Vít Krejčí scored a career-high 28 points (24 on 8 3-pointers), and the Atlanta Hawks rallied from 17 points down in the second quarter to beat the LA Clippers 105-102.
The Hawks trailed 36-19 with 9:25 left in the second quarter. They outscored the Clippers 86-66 the rest of the way.
The Clippers had the ball down 3 with 8.1 seconds left, but Krejčí blocked Nicolas Batum’s 3-pointer, lifting the Hawks’ chance to win from 93% to 96%. It would have tied the game.
During clutch time, the Hawks outscored the Clippers 13-4. Krejčí scored 6 of the Hawks’ 13 on 2 for 2 shooting. In the fourth quarter, Jalen Johnson had 4 of his 8 assists, 1 of them on a basket by Krejčí that put the Hawks ahead. With 4:36 left, Johnson stole the ball from James Harden, and Krejčí’s 29-foot 3-pointer off it put the Hawks ahead 95-92.
Kristaps Porziņģis had 20 points (8 in the second quarter) and 3 blocks.
For the Clippers, Harden had 35 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, his first triple-double of the season. Harden scored 19 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks shot 45.2% from the field and 38.2% from 3 to the Clippers’ 43.9% and 31.6%. They outscored the Clippers 20-4 on the fast break. The Hawks outscored the Clippers 23-5 in 5 minutes with Okongwu, Krejčí, Johnson, Daniels and Risacher on the floor together.