LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points, Terance Mann added a season-high 21 and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 22-point deficit in the second half to snap the Atlanta Hawks’ eight-game winning streak with a 119-110 victory Monday night.
Luke Kennard made all eight of his shots and scored all of his season-high 20 points in the second half for the Clippers, who fell behind 88-66 in the third quarter shortly after a frustrated coach Ty Lue put in a lineup of five reserves. With Mann and Kennard leading the comeback, Los Angeles ended the game on a dominant 53-22 run.
Trae Young had 28 points and eight assists, and John Collins scored 23 points in the Hawks’ first loss of March, and their first under new coach Nate McMillan. Atlanta’s winning streak was its longest since January 2015.
Mann scored 11 points in the fourth quarter while the Clippers erased their massive deficit with a 37-15 run capped by Mann’s tying layup with 4:25 to play. Mann then hit a 3-pointer with 2:42 left to give Los Angeles its first lead of the second half.
Leonard’s decisive 3-pointer with 1:23 left capped a 50-20 surge by the Clippers, and the superstar added another with a flourish on the next possession.
After Lue emptied his bench midway through the third quarter, a lineup without Leonard and Paul George shockingly trimmed the deficit to single digits led by Kennard, who banked in a 3-pointer from halfcourt at the third-quarter buzzer to cap his 13-point quarter.
Kennard signed a $64 million contract to join Los Angeles in the offseason, but had barely played recently before giving a dazzling effort against the Hawks in his biggest offensive game for the Clippers. He hit four 3-pointers.
The Clippers again played without two regular starters. Patrick Beverley has missed five straight games with right knee soreness, and Serge Ibaka has missed the last four games due to lower back tightness.
De’Andre Hunter scored eight points in 21 minutes for the Hawks in his first game since Jan. 29. He missed 23 games while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.
TIP-INS
Hawks: Danilo Gallinari was whistled for a flagrant foul on Mann in the third quarter. … Hunter, the fourth overall pick in 2019, averaged 17.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in his first 18 games this season. He is on a minutes restriction at the start of his comeback.
Clippers: During the game, the Clips traded Mfiondu Kabengele, a conditional second-round draft pick and cash to the Sacramento Kings for a conditional second-round draft pick. Kabengele appeared in 35 games over two seasons with LA. … George got a technical foul late in the first half after he was called for a curious foul on Young. George was fined $35,000 by the NBA last Friday for criticizing officials.
UP NEXT
Hawks: At Kings on Wednesday.
Clippers: At Spurs on Wednesday.
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
