Furious Paul George and the LA Clippers Humiliate Atlanta Hawks, 150-101

Paul George shined in Clippers’ massive win over the Atlanta Hawks, 150-101. The All-Star forward and one of the best players in the league introduced himself to the Los Angeles audience in the best possible way.

After scoring 33 points against the New Orleans Pelicans, PG poured 37 tonight and 13 of them in the opening 3:40. During that time, his Clippers created a 20-3 lead, which pretty much ended this game before it really started. He also became the only player in the franchise history to score 30+ points in the first two games for the team.

“He’s taken advantage of our offense, like he’d been playing in it for years…he plays within the offense, and then knows how to take advantage of what we’re running,” said Doc Rivers about PG’s influence on the game flow.

Rivers also explained that PG wanted to impress the fans, because it was his first game at home.

“This was his first one, and you could just tell that he was very serious about it today.”

The hosts won the opening quarter with 43-30, showcasing all of their offensive abilities. For one brief moment, in the early part of the second period, the Hawks were alive, once making an 11-0 run which brought them down to just four points, 47-43. It was De’Andre Hunter who sparked this push, with 7 points in this interval.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loM6RjXcyRA

However, the Clippers responded with the same measure, posting 15 and allowing just two points over the next few minutes. The difference at the break was still bearable, 74-62, but afterward, things began falling apart for the guests. From 6:23 left in the third, up to 5:55 left until the end, the young Hawks scored just 8 points. Meanwhile, the No.1 title contender dropped 37.

“I was watching. When you’re team’s got it going, the best thing you could do is stay out of their way,” Clippers head coach told at the press, following a question about the strong second half.

It was an indication of a disaster that would strike the guests from Georgia. They ended the match with only 6 made threes in 26 attempts, and were extremely bad from the field, 34 for 90. On top of that, the Clippers had an aerial advantage – 53-38.

Trae Young was completely shut in this game, and although he scored 20 points, he didn’t have any impact on the game. Ten of those points came from the free-throw line, while his shooting from the field was 4 for 16. Young also added 5 boards and 6 assists. Hunter had 12 points, Cam Reddish another rookie the same, and they both had a combined shooting from the game 9 for 29, 2 for 9 from downtown. Evan Turner, Damian Jones and Jabari Parker all added 11 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehGIFWTQ7Cc

For the Clippers, besides George, Lou Williams was in the mood for scoring, as Sweet Lou delivered 25 buckets, not missing a single of his 15 free throws. Montrezl Harrell had 17, while Jerome Robinson scored 21, shooting five of 7 threes. Ivica Zubac had 7, with 9 boards and 4 rejections.

Unlike the Hawks, LA had 15 threes hit in 33 attempts and were 33 for 35 from the line. This was a season-high in scoring this season for one team, with the note that Kahwi Leonard didn’t play. In all four periods, Doc Rivers’ team scored at least 30 points.

The Clippers (8-5) are awaiting the OKC Thunder on Monday night, and after that, have a big game against the Boston Celtics two days later.

Atlanta (4-8) will finish their tour through the Wes against the Lakers already tomorrow in a second of back-to-back games. Previously, they played against the Trail Blazers, Nuggets whom they’ve won, Suns and the Clippers.