Hawks fall to the Clippers, have lost 14 of last 15

The Hawks rallied late in the fourth quarter as Pero Antic scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer. Kyle Korver then scored six straight Hawks’ points, including a four-point play with 3:30 left to make it a two point game, 102-100. DeMarre Carroll hit a 3-pointer to make it a 107-105 with 2:05 remaining. After a Clippers turnover, Teague hit a floater for a tie game with 1:35 left.

The Clippers missed on the ensuing possession and Teague drove the lane but missed after some contact. Chris Paul converted a layup on the other end with under a minute left for a 109-107 advantage.

Teague turned the ball over on the Hawks’ next possession trying to find Paul Millsap under the basket. However, Blake Griffin was fouled and missed two free throws with 13.4 seconds left.

The Hawks had another chance.

Teague was fouled driving to the basket with 1.2 seconds left. He missed the first attempt off the front of the rim. He banked in the second attempt trying to miss and give the Hawks a chance at a rebound.

“I just tried to make a play at the rim and get a shot up,” Teague said. “I just missed the free throw. … That’s how it works. You want to make the first one, miss it. Try to miss the second one on purpose, make it.”

The Hawks did get a turnover but there was no time for a last-ditch shot attempt.

“Jeff is somebody who is a great free-throw shooter,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We have a lot of confidence in him. He just wasn’t able to knock them both down. Him attacking and getting to the basket and getting to the free-throw line is important. We’ll live with that every day.”

The Hawks lost the game at the end of the third quarter. They were outscored 18-8 over the final 7:38 of the period.

Another game. Another scoring drought. Another loss.

The Hawks (26-35, 9-24 road) have lost six straight and 14 of 15 games overall. They fell to 1-12 on the road against the Western Conference.

“That stretch, and I thought we had a couple of turnovers that led to us not being able to score, there were times when the pressure bothered us and affected us,” Budenholzer said. “We’ve got to be better against it. We’ve got to be better for longer. That was one of the stretches that hurt us.”

Carroll led the Hawks with 19 points, including 10 in the first quarter. Korver added 17 points. Antic (16 points), Millsap (14), Shelvin Mack (11) and Mike Scott (10) were the other double-digit scorers.

Despite the month-long losing streak, the Hawks remain eighth in the Eastern Conference with 21 games remaining in the regular season. Following the final game of the western road trip, Monday at the Jazz, the Hawks play 13 of their final 20 games at home.

“The best takeaway right now at this point of the season is being healthy, having all 12 guys” Carroll said. “With Paul and Pero back, you see what kind of team we are. We are going down the stretch. We are not panicking. We are not worrying. We are going to take it one game at a time. Try to win the next one at Utah and the next 13 of 20 games are at home. We just have to take care of business.”

The Clippers (44-20, 26-5 home) won their seventh straight game. Griffin led the way with a game-high 27 points. Paul added 19 points and 10 assists.

The Clippers ended the third quarter on the 18-8 run to take an 88-78 advantage into the final period. The Hawks had trouble scoring for more than seven minutes. Three of the Hawks points were a desperation 3-pointer by Mack at the shot-clock buzzer.

The Hawks led by as many as seven points in the first half. They took a 58-57 lead into halftime and forced the Clippers into seven first-quarter turnovers.

Antic started at center for the Hawks as Budenholzer went back to the lineup that was successful prior his injury.

“Our group continues to compete and fight,” Budenholzer said. “Having all our bigs back and healthy, having Pero and Paul back really helps our group. It gives us depth. It gives us versatility. Against a good team like the Clippers you need everything in your bag. I’m proud of our guys for the effort. We are frustrated that we weren’t able to get it done.”

The Hawks conclude a five-game western trip Monday at the Jazz.