Coffey and Ibaka spark Clippers’ win vs. Hawks
LOS ANGELES — Amir Coffey tied a career-high with 21 points and Serge Ibaka added 16 to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 106-93 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Coffey, who went undrafted out of Minnesota in the 2019 NBA draft, is on a two-way contract with the Clippers and the G-league but has really blossomed this season.
He made a big impact Sunday since the Clippers, like many NBA teams, are short-handed due to health and safety protocols and injuries.
He made 8 of 12 field goals and 5 of 8 3-pointer.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Trae Young led the Hawks with 19 points each. Bogdanovich scored 15 of those 19 points in the first half for the Hawks.
The Clippers, who played back-to-back games after a home loss to Memphis, snapped a threegame losing streak. They had also lost nine of their last 12 before Sunday’s victory.
The Clippers are still trying to figure out their way without Paul George, who is out with an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow for at least another few weeks.
Ivica Zubac 13 rebounds and three assists for the Clippers.
Coffey scored 10 of his points in the first quarter for the Clippers.
Pistons, Nuggets complete trade
The Detroit Pistons made their first move of the season Sunday, sending Rodney Mcgruder and a 2022 second-round pick to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Bol Bol, a league source confirmed to the Detroit Free Press. The 2022 pick was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets. The Pistons are now without a second-round selection in June’s draft.
The move addresses Detroit’s biggest roster weakness — lack of size. Bol, son of former NBA center Manute Bol, is 7 feet 2 with a 7-8 wingspan. He has played 328 NBA minutes since he was drafted 44th overall in 2019, playing 14 games with the Nuggets this season and averaging 5.8 minutes per game. He has appeared in 53 games for his career, averaging 2.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 6.2 minutes.
He averaged 12 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in about 19 minutes per game with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League team, last season. He’s a restricted free agent this summer.
Bol, 22, will add immediate size to a team that previously lacked a sevenfooter, and is still awaiting the return of center Kelly Olynyk from a left knee sprain.
Born in Sudan, Bol played nine games in his lone season at Oregon, before having seasonending foot surgery and declaring for the draft. He was once considered a lottery pick, and was the No. 4 prospect in the 2018 recruiting class out of Findlay Prep in Nevada.
Mcgruder, 30, played 17 games this season with the Pistons in a reserve role, after playing in 16 last season. He averaged 2.5 points in 9.5 minutes this season.