LOS ANGELES – Spurred by Amir Coffey’s career-high tying 21 points, 16 more from Serge Ibaka and an improved sense of physicality, the Clippers snapped a three-game skid with a 106-93 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon before 14,836 fans at Crypto.com Arena.
Coffey shot 8 for 12 and equaled his career high going 5 for 8 from 3-point range in the victory.
And the Clippers (20-21) outrebounded Atlanta 47-39, including 13-6 offensively. They also scored more points in the paint (50-40) and didn’t get run out of the building on the fast break, losing that particular category only 16-10 (after going into halftime having been shut out 12-0 in transition).
While the Clippers won for just the fourth time in 13 games, the Hawks (17-22) wrapped up a six-game road trip — which covered 5,723 miles and began with 12 players either in protocols or on the injured list.
Nearly healthy again, they couldn’t keep pace with a Clippers team stinging from Saturday’s 124-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
After that, the Clippers had lost nine of 12 while navigating constant lineup fluctuations, all of them complicating life without stars Kawhi Leonard (ACL) and Paul George (elbow).
On Sunday morning came word that versatile reserve Justise Winslow joined shooting guard Luke Kennard in health and safety protocols, bringing the number of Clippers’ out due to injury or protocols to six. (Hardship signee Xavier Moon cleared protocols and was available.)
After having had to chase Jaren Jackson Jr. all over the court Saturday in his first game out of protocols, Zubac regained his bearings against a Hawks team that was missing its leading rebounder Clint Capela (13.1 per game), who was missed Sunday’s game with an ankle injury.
This time, Zubac faced Onyeka Okongwu, the 6-foot-8 second-year forward who arrived on the Crypto.com stage via Chino Hills High School and USC and was playing just his seventh game this season.
Zubac finished with eight points and 13 rebounds on Sunday. Okongwu went away with nine points and 10 rebounds.
An aggressive Serge Ibaka finished one point shy of his season high after going 7 for 8 from the field and 2 for 3 from 3-point range.
Marcus Morris Sr. (15 points), Reggie Jackson (12), Eric Bledsoe (12 points, 7 assists) Nicolas Batum (10), Terence Mann (10 and seven rebounds) all scored in double figures in the win.
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The Clippers led at intermission, 59-53, when they had a slight advantage on the boards (22-19) but a decisive disadvantage on the break. Facing another of the NBA’s bottom-tier transition defenses, the Clippers gave up 12 first-half fast break points – or about how many points both they and the Hawks give up per game on average. Even so, the Clippers’ failed to muster any first-half points in transition.
Coffey enjoyed a splashy opening half; the third-year wing on the two-way deal went into halftime with a new season high already (16 points) on 6-for-7 shooting, including going 4 for 4 from deep.
Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 19 points apiece for Atlanta.
The Clippers play next Tuesday, when they host Denver before playing 10 of their remaining games this month on the road.
More to come on this story.