On Sunday, the Atlanta Hawks edged out the Los Angeles Clippers 112-108 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, extending the Clipper's losing streak to six games.

Without Clint Capela, the Hawks were outsized and outpowered by the Clippers from the inside. John Collins and Onyeka Okongwu combined to get 18 points and 18 rebounds, nearly the same numbers had by Ivica Zubac (17 points and 18 rebounds) alone. In the bench units, Frank Kaminsky (four points and five rebounds) was outperformed by Moses Brown (eight points and 10 rebounds) as well.

However, the stats only tell part of the story. Big but slow Zubac was vulnerable in front of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray when they called screens set by the teammates guarded by Zubac. Usually, Zubac dropped back in the paint in possessions like that so that the Hawks would get open shots in the middle range of the 3-point line. He closed out several times but was still unable to follow the Hawks' perimeter players, not to mention the offensive rebounds the Hawks stole by exploiting his absence from the paint.

Therefore, Zubac chose to stay back around the paint during most of his defensive plays to try to protect the paint. The Hawks, which ranked at the bottom among the 30 teams in 3-pointers made per game (10.3) and 27th in 3-point rate (33.2 percent), failed to make Zubac pay from downtown, where they shot 8-for-26.

Nonetheless, Young still punished Zubac, using his skillful floaters and fast penetration. He went 3-for-4 from the field and 7-for-7 at the free throw line to score 14 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Hawks to beat an 11-point deficit. The game-winning shot he made was a floater in front of Zubac at 0:33.

Sunday's loss led to the drop of the Clippers' ranking to seventh in the Western Conference. They could have avoided it after overcoming a 17-point deficit in the third quarter and leading by as much as 11 points in the final period. However, the team's poor shooting performance of 7-for-21 in field goals (FGs) in the fourth quarter cost them the home game.

Should Kawhi Leonard be held responsible for the Clippers' loss? His efficiency of going 9-for-23 from the floor was not impressive, but without Paul George, who is out with a hamstring injury, on his side, Leonard had to face most of the Hawks' defensive attention. His teammates, who shot 8-for-26 at the 3-point line, couldn't create decent spacing for him. Though over two-thirds of Leonard's FG attempts were jump shots, he still managed to earn 10 free throws and made nine of them.

Leonard's lack of offensive dominance is both part of the reasons behind and one of the consequences of the Clippers' offensive is struggling this season. John Wall's arrival didn't fix the team's problem of having no reliable orchestrator. As a result, Leonard must shoulder playmaking duty when he is on the court. His orchestrating work is based on drawing extra defensive attention with an unstoppable individual attack. Since his legs haven't fully recovered, Leonard lacks the firepower to support his passing function.

The Clippers' role players were less reliable than they used to be on the offensive end, too. Their biggest advantage before was the sharp 3-point shooting abilities of a five-out small-ball squad. The Clippers are still 10th, 11th and 14th in 3-point rate, 3-pointers made and shot per game, respectively, this season, but such performance is not sharp enough.

Perhaps that's why coach Tyronn Lue had Zubac play nearly 38 minutes – much longer than his average of 29.3 minutes this season – in Sunday's game and always kept a seven-footer on the floor. Since their small-ball squad can't establish a big advantage on the offensive end, keeping a big man there can at least enhance defense in the paint.

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

Portland Trail Blazers 105-117 Toronto Raptors

The two teams' starting lineups evenly matched each other at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada on Sunday. The Trail Blazers saw all five starters reach double-digit points, including Damian Lillard's game-high 34 points. So did the Raptors, and their starting five scored in a more balanced way.

Nonetheless, the Raptors' bench squad outscored their Trail Blazers counterpart 21-3. Shaedon Sharp became the only person off the visiting team's bench who scored by making one 3-pointer. The team is at the league's bottom in bench points, both in total and on average. Will they do something to change that?

Brooklyn Nets 102-101 Miami Heat

When Kevin Durant exited the game with an apparent right knee injury in the third quarter at the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida on Sunday, both the Nets and their fans must have felt a chill run down their spines. He crashed to the floor when Jimmy Butler landed on him. The last time he suffered a similar knee injury was about a year ago, and he missed 21 straight games afterward. According to the Nets' head coach Jacque Vaughn, he will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on Monday.

Royce O'Neale saved the Nets from double pain with two key plays in the final three seconds. He first grabbed the offensive rebound from Kyrie Irving's missed triple to make a tough jumper, placing the Nets in a one-point lead (102-101). Then O'Neale appeared under the rim in time to deflect Butler's shot, helping his team maintain their lead until the end of the competition.

Minnesota Timberwolves 104-96 Houston Rockets

The Timberwolves pocketed their fourth consecutive win after beating the Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Sunday. They trailed by as much as 20 points (58-38) in the second quarter but then managed to come back by launching waves of fast breaks exploiting the opponents' turnovers.

The Rockets only had 34 points in the second half of Sunday's game after going 13-for-40 from the field while committing 13 turnovers. They kept making unreasonable shooting choices and other awful offensive calls like they did in every one of the seven straight losses the team suffered. The Rockets continue to stay at the bottom of the NBA.

Philadelphia 76ers 123-111 Detroit Pistons

Charlotte Hornets 111-116 Indiana Pacers

Utah Jazz 118-123 Memphis Grizzlies

Dallas Mavericks 109-120 Oklahoma City Thunder

Cleveland Cavaliers 112-98 Phoenix Suns