Throughout the first half of the Hawks’ game against the Clippers on Wednesday night, the contest seemed like it was getting out of hand.
In the first two quarters, play after play, Los Angeles got into the paint and scored. Lou Williams cut through the lane for a lay-up. Montrezl Harrell made a jump hook from the low block. Then he did it again. And again.
As the Clippers jumped to a 19-point halftime lead, the optimism evaporated from State Farm Arena. The first 24 minutes became reminiscent of the last time the two teams met, when Los Angeles scored 74 first-half points en route to a 49-point win Nov.