ATLANTA — Well, that was an interesting 24 hours.
James Harden had 27 points and nine assists, and the Clippers ended a five-game losing streak with a 115-92 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night in their first game after deciding to move on from Chris Paul.
Kawhi Leonard had 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Ivica Zubac contributed 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for just the sixth time this season and the third time in their last 17 games. Kobe Sanders added 17 points and John Collins had 15 points and nine rebounds against his former team.
After a late-night meeting between Paul and Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank following the team’s delayed arrival in Atlanta on Tuesday, the Clippers sent home 12-time All-Star, who was averaging 2.3 points in what is expected to be the final season of his 21-year NBA career. The future Hall-of-Famer played in 16 of the Clippers’ 21 games in his return to the franchise where he had some of the best years of his career.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks with 21 points. Dyson Daniels added 15 points and two steals.
Jalen Johnson, who leads the Hawks in points (23.2), rebounds (10.0) and assists (7.2), was a late scratch with right calf tightness. Kristaps Porzingas (illness) also missed the game, and guard Trae Young is still a few weeks away from returning from a knee injury.
The result was a disjointed first half that saw the Hawks shoot 38% from the floor with 11 turnovers and just eight assists.
The Clippers led by 11 points in the first quarter, only to have Atlanta tie the score at 32-32. The Clippers finished the half strong by outscoring the Hawks 15-3 over the final 4:05 to take a 55-41 halftime lead. It was the fewest points scored by Atlanta in one half this season. The Clippers then scored the first five points of the second half to extend their lead to 19 points, and the Hawks never pulled within 13 the rest of the game.
Harden was aggressive for the Clippers from the start, taking 12 shots in the first quarter. He finished 11 for 24 from the field (5 for 14 from 3-point range), and had no free-throw attempts for the first time this season and just the second time in two years. Harden is third in the league at 8.0 free throw attempts per game.
The Clippers had 29 assists on their 44 field goals and 12 turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Clippers are in Memphis on Friday at 5 p.m. PT for the third game of a five-game road trip.