You could make the case that tonight’s game between the Hawks and the Clippers was the marquee game on the NBA slate. Atlanta had won four-staright heading into tongiht’s contest and the Clippers have arguably been the best team in the NBA over the past 30 games, going 25-5 in that span.

They showed why they might be the best team in the NBA tonight.

Kawhi Leonard looked like an MVP candidate and James Harden had a near triple-double in the Clippers win over the Hawks. The Clippers had a monster night from beyond the three-point line as well.

It was going to be a big challenge for the Hawks, who had some injury concerns coming into the game. Starting center Clint Capela was out for the game, while De’Andre Hunter and Saddiq Bey were both questionable.

The injury report broke the right way though and both Hunter and Bey wer made available to play. That was a big deal because the Hawks did not want to be without size at the forward positions in a game against Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

The Hawks starting lineup consisted of newly named Eastern Conference player of the week Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu.

The Clippers were without starting center Ivica Zubac tonight and Mason Plumlee got the start with him out. The other starters for Los Angeles were James Harden, Terance Mann, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George.

Despite this being the second night of a back-to-back, you could tell right away in this game why so many analysts around the NBA think the Clippers are Finals contenders. Their offense was unstoppable and they have defensive stalwarts like George and Leonard on the other end. The Clippers raced out to a 16-7 lead at the first timeout with 7:09 left in the first quarter.

Trae Young has had an incredicble season so far and he made some Hawks history tonight in the first quarter. Young passed Mookie Blaylock on the Hawks all-time assist record and now sits in second place, behind only Doc Rivers.

The first quarter was dominated by the Clippers. They were 6-9 from three and James Harden had nine early points. They were moving the ball well and taking advantage of some mismatches they had against Atlanta.

The best part of the first quarter and maybe the first half entirely for the Hawks was the way that De’Andre Hunter was playing. Hunter scored eight points in the first quarter and looked fantastic moving around. Games like tonight show how important that Hunter is too the Hawks on both ends of the floor.

The Clippers outscored the Hawks 37-28 in the first quarter.

As far as rotations went, Bruno Fernando did see the backup center minutes tonight as expected and Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic were the other key members of the bench tonight

The second quarter went the other way completely.

The Hawks did not do a lot to slow down the Clippers in the second quarter, but their offense took off.

The Hawks outscored the Clippers 38-29 and it was an all-around effort that led the Hawks to tying the game at halftime. The Clippers led by as many as 13 in the quarter, but they could not find a way to stop Atlanta’s offense. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu, and Hunter all had good efforts in the second quarter. The game was tied 66-66 at the half.

Atlanta rode a big second quarter to a strong performance in the first

The Clippers put on an offensive clinic in the first half. They shot 58% from the field and 53% from three. Leonard had 14 points, Harden had 13 points and six assists, and Norman Powell had 11 off of the bench.

The second half was another high-scoring affair between two of the best offenses in the NBA.

The Hawks had three players score in double-digts in the third quarter. Young (11) and Okongwu (10) played the best among the starters and Hunter continued his fantastic night, scoring 11 in the third quarter. Leonard scored nine for the Clippers and Harend had six. It was a back and forth quarter that ended with the Clippers holding a one-point lead.

During the pregame press conference, Hawks head coach Quin Sndyer did not specify how many minutes that Hunter would play tonight and he is still making his way back from his kneee injury. After playing great through three quarters, Hunter would only play a little over two minutes in the fourth quarter and you have to wonder if he had played more in the fourth quarter if there would have been a different outcome.

Both teams continued to trade baskets at the start of the quarter, but the Clippers started to pull away from the Hawks for good a little more than midway through. The Hawks made their attempts at a comeback, but they were unsuccessful due to their night on defense.

With 3:10 left in the game, The Clippers led 129-123 and then Bey hit a three for the the Hawks to cut it to three points. Russell Westbrook, who did not have a great night off the bench, scored a bucket on the other end to make it 131-126. Young would come back on the other end to hit two free throw’s to cut it back to three, but the Clippers jsut kept coming.

On the other of the floor, Leonard found a mismatch on Young and got a bucket plus the fould. It was a huge momentum play that stretched the lead back to six for the Clippers.

The Hawks kept coming though and Murray made a clutch basket on the other end to make it 134-130. The next two possessions for the Clippers though ended up being backbreakers for the Hawks.

After Murray hit his midrange shot, Leonard nailed a three on the other end to make it a seven point game and after a Hawks miss, Amir Coffey hit a reverse layup to make it a nine-point game.

With 35.5 seconds remaining, the Hawks had the ball trailing by six and Bogdanovic was able to hit a quick three to make it a one possession game. If the Hawks could get a stop on the other end, they could get the ball back.

Unfortunately, the possession ended with Young fouling Harden, who hit both free throws and the game was essentially over. The Hawks lost 149-144 and in a night they shot the ball so well on offense, they could not get a stop on the other end to make it count.

For the game, the Hawks shot 54% from the field and 52% from three. Despite playing only eighteen minutes, Hunter wound up being the leading scorer for Atlanta with 27 points. Young had 25 points and 12 assists, Murray had 21 points, both Bey and Okongwu had 18 points, and Bogdanovic finished with 16 points.

The Clippers had a tremendous night on offense. The Hawks have a bad defense, but the Clippers also have a pletheora of playmakers on their team. They shot 58% from the field and 60% from three. Leonard led the way with 36, while Harden had 30 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds.

It is tough to lose a game when you play well on the offensive end like that, but that is what happened with the Hawks tonight.