The Los Angeles Clippers have won a season- high six straight while the Atlanta Hawks are enduring Their longest road losing streak in seven seasons .
The high – scoring Clippers Have had trouble with the Hawks over the years and will try to hand Atlanta to sixth straight defeat and 10th in a row on the road Saturday night .
Los Angeles ( 43-20 ) cruised to a 142-94 rout Thursday of the Los Angeles Lakers for The most lopsided victory in franchise history. Darren Collison Scored 24 points and Blake Griffin had 20 and 11 rebounds as the Clippers finished With the Most points by any NBA team this season .
«It’s going in the right direction , » point guard Chris Paul said . » We do not want to get too high or too low . We just want to try to keep getting better . »
Collison made his third straight start in place of Jamal Crawford, who is day to day with a strained right calf . Los Angeles did not miss Crawford, shooting 55.3 percent and enjoying a 64-33 edge on the glass .
«Right now , if we want to Accomplish something big , These are the games that we’ve got to continue to get better as the minutes are gone THROUGHOUT the game , » Collison said .
The rout allowed coach Doc Rivers to give Danny Granger more playing time in the swingman ‘s second game with the Clippers since being signed Feb. 28 . Granger had 10 points in 18 minutes .
«I’m going to be very Patient with Danny , » Rivers said . » I just think it’s going to take a while for him to really get going. You could see some of the things I could do for us . »
The Clippers have dropped seven of nine meetings With the Hawks, who fell 111-97 at Golden State on Friday . Atlanta ( 26-34 ) is riding its longest slide since losing road its end 13 on the road in 2006-07 .
The Hawks have allowed an average of 112.8 points in losing five in a row overall. That does not seem to bode well for facing the Clippers, who are averaging 117.2 points During Their six -game run .
The Hawks on Friday welcomed back forward Paul Millsap, who had missed the previous five games with a right knee contusion . Millsap Scored a team -high 16 points for Atlanta , que fell behind by 14 at halftime after getting outscored by 13 in the second quarter .
«We got away from what we’ve been doing , » Millsap said . «It’s kind of tough to Lose That discipline , Especially when you’re on the road . »
One similarity Between These clubs is How They pass the ball . Atlanta is first in Assists per game with 25.2 while Los Angeles is third at 24.4 .
It’s the direct result of Wake Forest products Paul and Jeff Teague of Atlanta at point guard . Paul leads the NBA with 11.0 Assists Per Game while Teague is eighth at 6.9.
Atlanta holds a three- game lead for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference DESPITE losing 13 of 14 .
Hawks forward Kyle Korver ‘s league -record 127 -game streak with at Least one 3 -pointer in Wednesday’s loss ended at Portland. Could I be tested in this one since Los Angeles is limiting Opponents to an NBA -low 32.6 percent on 3- pointers .
Millsap Scored 25 and Korver added 23 in the Hawks ‘ 107-97 home win over the Clippers on Dec. 4 . Atlanta, however I , had a healthy Al Horford and then he’s out for the season with a torn right pectoral muscle .
