On January 5th, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued with the Clippers hosting the Hawks. In this game, Leonard made his debut for the new season, and the Clippers once unleashed a 16-0 offensive on the offensive end, with Xiaoqiang continuously delivering dunks, but the Hawks managed to catch up with the score through their three-point shooting. However, in the second quarter, the Clippers found their rhythm from beyond the arc while the Hawks struggled to keep up, resulting in a 27-4 run that widened the gap, ending the half with a 74-54 lead over the Hawks.
In this game, Leonard started, and the two teams were initially locked in a seesaw battle, trading blows on the offensive end, with Leonard hitting his first three-pointer of the season. However, after Xiaoqiang came off the bench, the Clippers suddenly picked up momentum, with Xiaoqiang delivering consecutive alley-oops, followed by Harden assisting Xiaoqiang on a counterattack, igniting the crowd and unleashing a 16-0 run to take a 29-14 lead. Matthews' 3+1 helped stem the bleeding, but the Clippers couldn't maintain their momentum as Matthews hit another three-pointer, Trae Young responded with a three-pointer, and Lisha responded with a dunk, leading to a 14-0 run by the Hawks to end the first quarter with the Clippers leading 29-28.
In the second quarter, Coffey hit a three-pointer, Powell scored on a drive, and the Hawks continued to score to stay close, with Matthews hitting a three-pointer and Powell responding. Zubac added a putback dunk, but the Hawks' offense suddenly went cold, missing multiple shots. The Clippers seized the opportunity, with Coffey hitting two consecutive three-pointers, Leonard also hitting a three-pointer, Coffey scoring a 2+1 on a fast break, and Powell adding another three-pointer, unleashing a 27-4 super offensive to bring the score to 63-39. The Hawks were unable to keep up, with Hunter's three-pointer providing some relief, Powell scoring again on a drive, and Trae Young hitting a three-pointer, but the Clippers continued to score, with Leonard hitting another three-pointer to end the half with the Clippers leading 74-54 over the Hawks.
In the first half, the Clippers' offense completely went crazy, with Leonard's return inspiring the team and Harden focusing on organizing, delivering 13 assists at halftime. Leonard played 15 minutes in the first half, hitting 3 out of 3 three-pointers for 9 points and 3 rebounds; Coffey contributed 15 points off the bench, and Xiaoqiang contributed 12 points with 6 dunks in the first half.