ATLANTA - With Trae Young cheering him on from the bench, Brandon Goodwin did a pretty good impression of the Atlanta Hawks' star point guard.
Goodwin scored 19 points - all in the fourth quarter - as the Hawks rallied from a 21-point deficit Wednesday night to stun the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers, 102-95.
John Collins scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but it was Goodwin who took control in the final period. He was 6-for-11 from the field, including all three of his attempts beyond the arc, and dished off to De'Andre Hunter in the corner for a 3-pointer that gave the Hawks a 99-93 lead with 1:43 remaining.
"Obviously, when I first got in there, I wasn't doing much," Goodwin said. "When that first 3 fell, I was kind of relieved. I started to hit my shots."
Young, the NBA's third-leading scorer this season with an average of 29.2 points a game, didn't dress because of a right thigh contusion. Recently acquired veteran Jeff Teague started in his place, but the Hawks turned to a reserve who has spent a good portion of the season in the G League with the game on the line.
"He controlled the offense and made big plays," Collins said. "To give us the minutes he did was extremely valuable."
The Clippers seemingly seized control with a 20-0 run in the first quarter, despite missing starters Patrick Beverly, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Los Angeles went with a lineup that had averaged a cumulative 44.5 points a game this season. The Clippers had no trouble scoring in the first half against the Hawks' 28th-ranked defense, building a 60-41 at the break, but they were dismal offensively in the second half, going just 12-of-37 (32.4%) from the field, including 2-of-15 from 3-point range.
"A rough start," Collins said. "But they didn't have a couple of their big guns. We knew we could play with them."
Clippers coach Doc Rivers believed his team squandered a chance to build an even bigger lead in the final minutes of the first half. Then, in the first five minutes of the third quarter, Los Angeles let the Hawks back in the game.
"Once it became a 10-point game, you're like, 'Oh boy, it's going to be a tough night," Rivers said.
Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young, left, pours water on teammate Brandon Goodwin after a 102-95 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. Young sat out with a contusion in his right thigh. / AP photo by Brett DavisMontrezl Harrell led Los Angeles with 30 points, but his struggles at the foul line (6-of-13) gave the Hawks a chance to rally.
Rivers didn't seem too concerned about the loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak, calling it "a one-off-game."
Leonard skipped the second of back-to-back games after a 36-point performance the previous night in a victory at Dallas, Beverly sat after going out with a groin injury against the Mavericks and George missed his seventh straight while recovering from a strained left hamstring.
With many fans still settling into their seats, the Clippers suddenly turned a 12-10 deficit into a 30-12 lead. The Hawks missed 15 straight shots during a nearly six-minute scoring drought, despite giving themselves plenty of second chances by grabbing five offensive rebounds.
The Hawks rallied with a barrage of 3-pointers, hitting 10 of 23 over the final two quarters after going 1-of-12 in the first half. They were essentially a two-man team in the final period, when Collins and Goodwin combined for 27 of the team's 33 points.
Teague made his first start for the Hawks since May 8, 2016, when Atlanta lost at Cleveland as the LeBron James-led Cavaliers completed a four-game sweep in the second round of the playoffs.
He returned to the Hawks last week in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, mainly to serve mainly as the backup point guard. With Young out, he moved into the starting lineup, rekindling memories of his starring role for the 2014-15 team that won 60 games and reached the Eastern Conference final series.
Teague managed just 3 points on 1-of-7 shooting, though he did lead the team with eight assists.
Lou Williams and Terance Mann started in the Clippers' backcourt. Williams scored 18 points, but Mann contributed just two assists and a single point in 15 1/2 minutes of playing time.
Landry Chamet committed a dismal foul on Goodwin in the closing minutes, slamming into the Atlanta player after he misfired on a 3-pointer. Goodwin made all three free throws to give the Hawks a 96-91 lead.
Bruno Fernando started at center for Atlanta, scoring six points and grabbing nine rebounds. Kevin Huerter (12 points) and Cam Reddish (10) also finished in double figures for the Hawks, who improved to 6-16 at State Farm Arena - still far off their pace from a season ago, when they went 17-24 on their home court.