Clippers at Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are making a statement about the supposed Western Conference superiority, and they'll get a chance to back it up when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. The Hawks improved to 5-2 against the West with a 105-102 win at Dallas on Monday, their fourth straight win and 13th in 14 games. The Clippers have lost five straight road games in the series dating to 2009.
Los Angeles dropped its fourth straight overall on the road with a 125-118 loss at San Antonio, falling to 8-6 away from home. The Clippers can't expect to change their fortunes in Atlanta unless they tighten up their defense — the Spurs shot 63.6 percent from the floor and went 13-of-23 from 3-point range Monday. The Hawks, who are a game behind Toronto for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, are 12-2 at home, where they have won seven straight.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), SportSouth (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (19-9): Los Angeles doesn't have much trouble lighting up the scoreboard thanks to stars Blake Griffin (23.1 points, 7.7 rebounds) and Chris Paul (18.1 points, 9.8 assists), but the Clippers have struggled defensively of late. They had no answers at that end against the Spurs, who carved them up for 44 points in the paint and lit it up from outside. Three-point shooting kept Los Angeles in the game Monday and continues to be one of the team's strengths at 38.5 percent behind the arc.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (20-7): Atlanta keeps winning despite playing the past three games without point guard and leading scorer Jeff Teague (16.8 points, seven assists) because of a hamstring injury. The primary reason is the play of second-year point guard Dennis Schroder, who followed up a double-double in his first career start with a career-high 22 points against Dallas. The outstanding point-guard play has aided Atlanta's balanced attack, as all five regular starters average double-digit scoring.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Hawks are 15-1 when holding opponents under 100 points, including 10-0 at home, but the Clippers have failed to hit triple digits in only six of their 28 games.
2. The Clippers are 6-1 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
3. Atlanta C Al Horford has scored at least 14 points and shot 50 percent or better in each of the past six games.