Hawks rally from 21 down to beat Clippers
ATLANTA (AP) John Collins scored 33 points and got a big assist from two-way player Brandon Goodwin as the Atlanta Hawks, playing without Trae Young, rallied from a 21-point deficit to stun the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 102-95 on Wednesday night.
Goodwin chipped in with 19 points - all in the fourth quarter - and dished off to De'Andre Hunter in the corner for a 3-pointer that gave the Hawks a 99-93 lead with 1:43 remaining.
Young, the NBA's third-leading scorer at 29.2 points a game, cheered on Goodwin from the bench. The Hawks star didn't dress because of a right thigh contusion.
The Clippers seemingly seized control with a 20-0 run in the first quarter, despite missing starters Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Patrick Beverly.
Los Angeles went with a lineup that was averaging a cumulative 44.5 points a game. They had no trouble scoring in the first half against the Hawks' 28th-ranked defense, building a 60-41 at the break.
But the Clippers were dismal offensively in the second half, hitting just 12 of 37 (32.4%) from the field, including 2 of 15 from 3-point range.
Montrezl Harrell led Los Angeles with 30 points, but his struggles at the foul line (6 of 13) gave the Hawks a chance to rally.
With many fans still settling into their seats, the Clippers suddenly turned a 12-10 deficit into a 30-12 lead. The Hawks missed 15 straight shots during a nearly six-minute scoring drought, despite giving themselves plenty of second chances by grabbing five offensive rebounds.
Leonard skipped the back-to-back after a 36-point effort the previous night in a victory at Dallas. Beverly missed the game after going down out with a groin injury against the Mavericks. George missed his seventh straight game recovering from a strained left hamstring.
The Hawks rallied with a barrage of 3-pointers, hitting 10 of 23 over the final two quarters after going 1 of 12 in the first half.
They were essentially a two-man team in the final period. Goodwin and Collins combined for 27 of the team's 33 points. Collins also had 16 rebounds.
Recently acquired Jeff Teague started in place of Young and managed just 3 points on 1 of 7 shooting.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Lou Williams scored 18 points. ... Landry Chamet committed a dismal foul on Goodwin in the closing minutes, slamming into the Atlanta player after he misfired on a 3-pointer. Goodwin made all three free throws to give the Hawks a 96-91 lead.
Hawks: Teague made his first start for the Hawks since May 8, 2016, when Atlanta lost at Cleveland to complete a four-game sweep in the second round of the playoffs. He was re-acquired by Atlanta last week to serve as Young's backup. ... The Hawks dropped to 5-17 at State Farm Arena, far behind their pace from a season ago when they went 17-24 on their home court.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Travel to Miami to face the Heat on Friday night, the fourth stop on their six-game trip.
Hawks: Hit the road for a game Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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