Wes Johnson/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers (40-21) can’t afford to lose home games to inferior teams, what with so much at stake. But after taking a 17-point lead over the visiting Atlanta Hawks (35-28) early in the second quarter Saturday, the Clippers were eventually defeated 107-97.

Clippers reserve forward Wes Johnson tried to explain what happened.

“We had it going, but it just got away from us,” he said. “They are a good team and they went on a run. Transition defense was what really busted it open for them. In the half court, they were moving the ball really well and then like I said, it was just transitions. They had us scrambling and they were knocking down the shots.”

The Clippers trailed by just a point entering the fourth quarter, but were outscored 27-18 in the final 12 minutes, during which the Clippers shot just 30 percent (6 of 20).

The Clippers fell 1 1/2 games behind third-place Oklahoma City in the Western Conference standings.