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Clippers top Hawks for seventh straight win

Mar 9, 2014 - 7:07 AM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Blake Griffin scored 27 points with eight rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers edged the Atlanta Hawks, 109-108, on Saturday night at Staples Center.

With the game knotted at 107-apiece, Chris Paul drove the lane and converted a layup to give the Clippers the lead. Following an empty possession from Atlanta, Griffin stepped to the line with 13.4 seconds left and a chance to seal it for the hosts. However, he missed both and left the door open for Atlanta to tie or win with the final touch.

Coming out of a timeout, Jeff Teague drove on DeAndre Jordan and put up a wild shot, but Jordan was called for a foul. Teague stepped to the stripe with 1.2 seconds left and missed the first of two free throws. He then tried to miss the second attempt, but the shot banked in giving the ball back to LA.

The Clippers ran out the remaining clock and squeaked out a win to stretch their winning streak to seven games.

"We got a win and that's all that matters," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. "I didn't like our execution late in the game. I don't like turnovers period. A lot of them were unforced. I'm happy with the win, but you could see early we didn't have it."

Paul finished with a 19-point, 10-assist double-double, Matt Barnes contributed 17 points, and Jordan notched 13 points with 12 rebounds in the win.

DeMarre Carroll scored 10 of his 19 points in the first quarter to lead the Hawks, who have dropped 10 straight on the road and six straight overall. Kyle Korver had 17 points and Pero Antic added 16 in the setback.

"We had a chance to send it into overtime, but things didn't go our way late," said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. "I'm proud of our guys for their effort. We just couldn't get it done."

Atlanta led 32-25 after one and brought slim 58-57 lead into the locker room at the half. The Hawks pushed their halftime lead to 67-63, but the Clippers used a 13-3 run to grab a 76-70 lead with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.

Danny Granger knocked down a 3-pointer before Darren Collison made a floater with 6.3 seconds left to make it, 88-78, heading into the fourth.

The Clippers stretched the margin to a game-high 11 after a Willie Green trey early in the fourth.

Korver hit a four-point play to cap an 11-2 run for Atlanta later in the quarter and cut the deficit to 102-100. Teague then hit a running floater with 1 1/2 minutes remaining on the clock to tie the game at 107-107 before Paul's successful layup put the Clippers up for good.

Game Notes

Teague had nine points and nine assists in defeat ... The Hawks have lost the last three games at Staples Center by a combined four points (two Lakers, one Clippers) ... This is the longest road losing streak for Atlanta since the Hawks lost the final 13 games on the highway in 2006-07 ... Collison finished with 12 points in the win ... LA shot 42-of-79 from the field, while Atlanta made 38-of-76 attempts ... The Clippers owned a 60-40 advantage in the paint and outrebounded Atlanta, 35-29.