RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Alvin Gentry is more fortunate than most of
the poor souls who have coached the Los Angeles Clippers. He has
more offensive weapons, a group of players who will listen to
instructions and play defense at critical times.
Jeff McInnis scored a career-high 28 points and Lamar Odom added
eight of his 25 points in the final 4:50 as the Clippers overcame
an 18-point deficit to beat Atlanta 115-106 Friday night, sending
the winless Hawks to their seventh straight defeat.
Rookie Keyon Dooling scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth
for the Clippers, who beat the Hawks for the second consecutive
time after losing their previous 10 meetings.
"We hung in there. That's the good thing about this team,"
Gentry said. "Every night, it's somebody different. I've been
really happy with the way Jeff and Keyon have been playing. Jeff
has been terrific for us, and Lamar really stepped up had the type
of game I thought he'd have."
Jim Jackson scored 15 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter for
the Hawks, whose 0-7 start is their worst since the franchise moved
from St. Louis to Atlanta in 1968. The previous worst by an Atlanta
team was 0-4, in 1971 under Richie Guerin, and 1994 under Lenny
Wilkens. Atlanta is the only NBA team that has yet to win a game.
The Hawks, who have lost 27 of 32, concluded their four-game
western swing with their 19th consecutive road loss since a 95-87
win at Seattle on Feb. 25. It is their longest drought since a
22-game streak in 1975-76.
"It's not been enjoyable to get the results we've gotten,"
rookie coach Lon Kruger said. "We've got a young group, and we've
really made progress. It was far and away our best offensive
effort."
The Clippers took their biggest lead, 97-85, on a 3-pointer by
rookie Quentin Richardson with 6:50 remaining. Jackson fueled a
15-9 run with 11 points, including a 3-pointer that got the Hawks
as close as 106-100 with three minutes left.
But McInnis clinched it with two free throws and a dunk in the
final 35 seconds.
McInnis, who entered the game with a team-high 13.8 scoring
average, put the Clippers ahead 75-74 with 1:43 left in the third
quarter, converting his midcourt steal of Hawks No.1 draft pick
DerMarr Johnson into an 11-foot running jumper. Eric Piatkowski
followed with a 3-pointer for his first points of the game, and
Odom capped the period with two free throws for an 82-76 lead.
"We're going to need a lot of people to step up on this team
now, because a lot of teams are doubling on Lamar and Michael,"
Clippers forward Tyrone Nesby said. "So we need the rest of the
guys to come out and play well. We had everybody step up tonight,
and that's why we won the game."
The Clippers opened the second half with two free throws by
Odom, a 3-point play by McInnis and 3-point shots by Odom and
Nesby, capping a 21-0 run that turned a 58-40 deficit into a 61-58
lead with 9:03 left in the third quarter.
"The most important thing about that run was playing defense,"
center Michael Olowokandi said. "We feel like if we play defense
like we're supposed to, we'll always have an opportunity to stay in
the game."
Nesby, 2-for-12 from 3-point range in his first four games, hit
two more from beyond the arc to help increase the margin to 69-63.
Johnson and fellow reserve Chris Crawford each shot 4-for-4 in
the second quarter to help give the Hawks a 58-50 halftime
advantage -- ending a streak of 29 consecutive regular-season
quarters in which the Hawks failed to have a lead at the buzzer.
The Clippers trailed by as many as 18 points before scoring 10
straight points in the final 53 seconds of the half. That run was
capped by three-point plays from Nesby and McInnis, who had 15
points in the half.
Olowokandi made his first six shots, capping the scoring binge
with a 12-footer that tied the score at 18 after the Clippers fell
behind by 10 points in the first four minutes. The three-year
veteran, who entered the game with a .302 shooting percentage,
totaled only six field goals in 65 minutes over his previous three
games.
"I was getting good looks. (Dikembe) Mutombo
was guarding me
all by himself, so I was fortunate to capitalize. That forced them
to double-team me the rest of the game, and we were able to get
great looks all throughout the game."
Game
notes
In its NBA preview issue, Sports Illustrated ranked the
Hawks at the bottom of the overall standings -- three places behind
the Clippers, who were declared by that same magazine last April as
the "worst franchise in sports history." ... Kruger is the first
Atlanta coach to lose his first seven games. Gene Tormohlen, who
replaced Cotton Fitzsimmons for the final eight games of 1975-76,
lost his first six before splitting the final two games. ... Sean
Rooks, the Clippers' nine-year veteran center, is the only player
in the league who has been a teammate of Darius Miles, Kobe Bryant
and Kevin Garnett -- all high school prodigies who jumped straight
to the pros. ... When the Clippers make their next visit to Atlanta
on Jan. 13, the Hawks will retire Dominique Wilkins' No. 21 jersey.
Wilkins had a 25-game stint with the Clippers at the end of the
1993-94 season, averaging 29.1 points.
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NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
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RECAPS
Toronto 115
Cleveland 88
Indiana 86
Washington 74
New York 103
Boston 101
Dallas 79
San Antonio 77
Miami 87
Utah 80
Sacramento 114
Golden State 107
LA Clippers 115
Atlanta 106
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