Vit Krejci scored a career-high 28 points while sinking a career-best eight 3-pointers as the Atlanta Hawks earned a 105-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday at Inglewood, Calif.
Krejci finished 8-for-10 from long distance and 9-for-13 from the floor overall in 30 minutes off the bench. He also blocked the Clippers’ 3-point attempt for a tie in the final seconds.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points for the Hawks after he missed their Saturday home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers for rest. Jalen Johnson added 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists after also sitting out the Saturday contest because of a quad injury.
The Hawks outscored the Clippers 33-23 in the second quarter while erasing a 17-point deficit. Atlanta, which has five wins in the past seven games, captured the opener of a four-game road trip through the Western Conference.
James Harden produced 35 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Clippers, who lost their fifth consecutive game, four of them without Kawhi Leonard (ankle). Harden scored 19 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Ivica Zubac totaled 13 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, while Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn each added 11 points. The Clippers also were without Bradley Beal (hip), who was ruled out before the game.
Krejci made five of his 3-pointers in the first half to lead the second-quarter rally, but his most decisive shots from long range came in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers tied the game on consecutive 3-pointers from Harden before Krejci’s 3-pointer with 4:25 remaining gave the Hawks a 95-92 lead. Krejci added another from long distance with 36 seconds remaining as Atlanta took a 105-98 lead.
The Clippers still had a chance to force overtime, getting a four-point play from Harden with 25.2 seconds remaining to pull within 105-102. Harden missed a 3-point attempt with 11.5 seconds left, but Los Angeles had one more chance to tie before a rushed 3-point try from Nicolas Batum was blocked by Krejci.
Los Angeles was up 38-22 with 7:29 remaining before halftime when the Hawks went on a 20-3 run that included four 3-pointers from Krejci at one point for a 42-41 lead.
Krejci scored 17 points in the first half for Atlanta, while Jones and Harden each had 10 for the Clippers.
