Carroll's 25 Lead Hawks Past Clippers, 107-104
ATLANTA (CBSLA.com/AP) — DeMarre Carroll scored a career-high 25 points and the Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 107-104 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory.
Al Horford had 20 points for Southeast Division-leading Atlanta, which has won 14 of 15.
Blake Griffin had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers. Chris Paul scored 19 points.
The Hawks held off the Clippers in a hectic final 30 seconds. After a layup by J.J. Redick, who had 18 points, cut Atlanta's lead to 104-102 with 18 seconds remaining, Kyle Korver answered with two free throws.
After Redick made two of three free throws, Korver was tied up by Matt Barnes for a jump ball with 9.5 seconds remaining. Korver won the tip and Horford made one of two free throws. Griffin missed a last-second 3-pointer.
Carroll led Atlanta with 10 rebounds.
The Clippers were coming off a loss at San Antonio on Monday night. Despite the travel, coach Doc Rivers said he wasn't going to rest any of his players.
"My eyes told me that they wanted to play," Rivers said before the game.
The Clippers' strong first half, including a 17-0 run in the second quarter, showed that Rivers had a good read on his team.
The Hawks had a second-half answer, however. Atlanta scored the first nine points of the fourth period for a 90-83 lead.
Jamal Crawford, who missed his first five shots, recovered by scoring eight straight points -- two 3-pointers and two free throws -- to set the pace in the Clippers' dominant second quarter. The Clippers' 17-0 run turned a 40-30 deficit into a 47-40 lead. Atlanta's long drought, which covered much of the second quarter, finally ended when Paul Millsap sank two free throws.
Millsap closed the half with a 3-pointer and two more free throws, but still the Clippers led 57-50 at the break.
Hawks point guard Jeff Teague played in a reserve role after missing three games with a strained left hamstring. Coach Mike Budenholzer stayed with Dennis Schroder for his fourth start while Teague was eased back into action.
Schroder was coming off a career-high 22 points in a win at Dallas on Monday night, only two games after setting a high with 10 assists in a victory over Cleveland.
Schroder, from Germany, also started the second half, but at times his lack of experience showed. Budenholzer called a full timeout only 32 seconds into the second half and went straight to the young point guard to deliver a lesson.
Schroder had five points with four assists and four turnovers. Teague had nine points and six assists.
The Clippers have Wednesday off before returning to Staples Center to host the Golden State Warriors on Christmas day.
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