Peachtree Hoops: Hawks finish west coast road trip with 106-93 loss to Clippers

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Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

The Atlanta Hawks were back in the Crypto.com Arena, but this time to face the Los Angeles Clippers. They were not able to secure the victory, losing 106-93 in what was another frustrating effort for the Hawks.

Bogdan Bogdanovic got it going in the first quarter, scoring nine points and shooting 4/5 from the field.

Bogi fading and firing. pic.twitter.com/gStYnyyENv

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 9, 2022

The Clippers got hot at the end of the first, hitting 10 of their last 12 shots and taking a 31-23 lead.

Both teams exchanged buckets for most of the second quarter. Bogdanovic continued his hot shooting, finishing with 15 points in the second half.

Bogi in attack mode. pic.twitter.com/nfG4cvVbXG

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 9, 2022

A positive note at times for the Hawks in the first half was their defense, which is an area they have not performed well in on this road trip. Despite the signs of improvement and holding the Clippers to 0 fast break points in the first half, the Hawks went into halftime trailing 59-53.

I think the Hawks were notably better on defense in that first half, but it doesn't really show on the scoreboard.

LA shoots 50% from three and the Hawks trail by six.

— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) January 9, 2022

Trae Young started to get it going in the third quarter.

Cookies pic.twitter.com/jjFb5yex8D

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 9, 2022

The Hawks cut the lead down to two points in the third, but the Clippers once again went on a run to the end the quarter. They led 86-73 heading going into the fourth.

Shots were falling for the Hawks to start the quarter, but what has been a recurring theme, they could not get many stops. The Hawks stopped score inside the final six minutes when they finally did come up with a few stops defensively. Serge Ibaka and the Clippers bench had it going, and the Hawks just didn’t have an answer. Young and Bogdanovic both finished the game with 19 points.

The Hawks will be back home on Wednesday to face the Miami Heat.

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