Hawks at Clippers
THE STORY: The Los Angeles Clippers are sliding in the wrong direction and will look to break out of the doldrums when they host the Atlanta Hawks. Los Angeles has lost eight of its past 12 games and has fallen two games behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division race. Atlanta lost in overtime to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday to fall to 2-3 on a six-game road trip. The Hawks have the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), Fox Sports West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (24-18): Speculation about a trade of forward Josh Smith prior to Thursday’s trading deadline was squashed by Atlanta co-owner Bruce Levenson. Smith just happens to be in the midst of a roll. He had a season-high 33 points to go with 13 rebounds against the Nuggets and has scored 20 or more points in seven straight games, the longest stretch of his career. “The talk was talk,” Smith said after the Denver contest. “Nothing but rumors. All rumors. Unless you heard it coming from my mouth, you knew it was a rumor. I was always going to be a part of this program.”
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (23-17): Guard Chris Paul had a subpar outing against the Boston Celtics on Monday in his second contest after suffering a fractured nose. Paul, who is wearing a protective mask, had 14 points on 3-of-12 shooting. He was disappointed following the latest defeat. “I can’t stand to lose. It’s not acceptable,” Paul said. “We talked about it after the game that everybody has got to do their part. We’re going to watch film and figure it out. There ain’t no moral victories around here. I’ve been in this league too long. You’ve got to win or you lose, and you’ve got to play the right way.”
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Hawks swept two games from the Clippers in each of the past two seasons.
2. Atlanta guard Joe Johnson scored a season-best 34 points in the loss to Denver.
3. Los Angeles forward Caron Butler is shooting just 27.1 percent from the field over the last nine games.