Dec 3, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; The LA Clippers bench reacts to a basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn ImagesGrant MonaThu, December 4, 2025 at 5:19 AM UTC·7 min readAfter one of the craziest 24-hour stretches in recent team history, the Los Angeles Clippers took out all of their frustration on the Atlanta Hawks in a 115-92 blowout win on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena, turning in their best game of the season just hours after cutting ties with point guard Chris Paul.
A Wild Lead-Up to Tip-OffThe Clippers landed in Atlanta already dealing with a five-game losing streak and a rough 5-16 record, but what happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning made an already tough road trip even more messy.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAround 2:40 a.m. ET, Paul posted on Instagram that he was "being sent home" with a peace emoji, putting an end to his second run with the team that he helped build during the "Lob City" days from 2011-17.
Clippers president Lawrence Frank confirmed the shocking news shortly after, saying that the team would work with the 12-time All-Star on the next step of his career while making it clear that no one was pointing fingers at the future Hall of Famer for the team's struggles.
The 40-year-old Paul had been far from his usual self this season, putting up just 2.9 points and 3.3 assists across 16 games off the bench, and reports came out that he and head coach Tyronn Lue had not been talking for several weeks before the move was made.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementVeteran Stars Lead the WayWith all of the drama going on around the team, someone needed to step up and steady the ship, and James Harden answered the call from the moment the ball was tipped. The 36-year-old guard came out hot and never let up, scoring 27 points on 11-of-24 shooting from the field while hitting five of his 14 three-point tries and handing out nine assists to go along with three steals in 37 minutes of work.
Harden was especially aggressive in the first quarter when he put up 12 shots to set the tone early, and his attack mode kept the Hawks on their heels all night long as he keeps leading the team at 26.9 points per game this season.
Kawhi Leonard was the perfect running mate to Harden's big scoring night, chipping in 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists while playing his usual brand of two-way basketball that has made him one of the best players in the league when healthy.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe two-time Finals MVP did shoot only 7-of-21 from the floor and added two steals in 35 minutes, and even on a night where his shot wasn't dropping at a high rate, his presence on both ends of the floor helped the Clippers stay in control from start to finish.
Leonard has been rolling since coming back from a 10-game absence due to foot and ankle injuries, and he's now putting up 26.4 points per game across his 12 games this season.
Collins Returns to AtlantaWednesday night meant a little extra for John Collins, who made his first trip back to State Farm Arena since being traded out of Atlanta in a three-team deal last summer that sent him to the Clippers.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 28-year-old forward clearly had this one marked on his calendar, and he put together a solid game against the team that drafted him back in 2017, finishing with 15 points on a good 6-of-13 shooting along with nine rebounds in 32 minutes as a starter.
Collins has found a key role in Los Angeles since Bradley Beal went down with a season-ending hip fracture, moving into the starting lineup and bringing the kind of energy and bounce that the Clippers badly need every night.
He's been putting up 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds this season, and his ability to finish at the rim and knock down outside shots has given Lue some needed options during an otherwise tough year.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRookie Sanders Shines Off the BenchWhile the veteran stars did their thing, the most fun story of the night might have been the big game from Kobe Sanders, who went off for a team-high 17 points off the bench and had the Clippers' sideline buzzing in the second half.
The 23-year-old rookie guard, who was picked 50th overall by the Knicks and then traded to Los Angeles on draft night, looked calm and ready as he hit 5-of-6 from the field and made both of his three-point tries while adding three rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes of play.
Sanders, who played his college ball at Cal Poly before moving to Nevada for his last season, has slowly earned his way into Lue's rotation even though he's on a two-way contract, and games like Wednesday night show that he could be a real piece for this team going forward.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 6-foot-8 guard brings a nice mix of size, shooting, and passing that the Clippers have been missing off the bench, and his 17-point night was just the kind of lift that a struggling team needs from its young guys.
Ivica Zubac kept up his quietly great season by holding down the paint with 14 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, giving the Croatian center his 14th double-double of the year.
Complete Team Effort Overwhelms HawksBeyond the big individual games, what made Wednesday night so promising for the Clippers was the way they beat the Hawks in every part of the game from start to finish. Los Angeles shot 49 percent from the field compared to Atlanta's poor 40 percent mark while crushing the Hawks on the glass with a 54-38 rebounding edge that let them control the tempo and cut down on second-chance points on defense.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe ball movement was maybe the best sign of all, as the Clippers piled up 29 assists on their 44 made field goals while turning it over just 12 times, a big step up from the sloppy play that had hurt them during their recent five-game slide.
Los Angeles took a 55-41 lead into halftime and then put the game out of reach by starting the third quarter on a huge 22-5 run that pushed their lead to 19 points, and the Hawks never got closer than 13 the rest of the way as the Clippers rolled to the finish.
On the other side, Jalen Johnson did what he could to keep Atlanta in it with 21 points and five rebounds, but he had a rough shooting night at 7-of-18, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 15 points in a losing effort.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Hawks shot just 33 percent from three and turned it over 16 times against the Clippers' active defense, a big change from the lazy effort that Los Angeles had been showing on that end lately.
Looking AheadThe win moves the Clippers to 6-16 on the season while dropping the Hawks to 13-10, and while Los Angeles still sits near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, Wednesday night gave a real look at what this team can do when they play hard, move the ball, and lock in on defense.
The road trip goes on Friday in Memphis, and the Clippers will try to keep this going while the question of what comes next for Chris Paul hangs over the team.
For one night at least, the Clippers showed that they can still play at a high level when everything clicks, and after all the mess that got them to this point, that's something to build on.
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