"Al Horford had a busy weekend capped by his first appearance in the All-Star game and followed that with two hard practices for the Hawks.

Yet late Wednesday night at the Staples Center it was hard to tell Horford didn't get a weekend break along with most of his teammates.

Horford punished the Clippers for a career-high 31 points while making 12 of 15 shots and helping the Hawks score 70 points in the paint.

"I had two really good practices, and I felt good coming into the game," Horford said after the Hawks' 110-92 victory. "The guys were finding me, and I was getting a lot of good looks. I was finishing plays and making them pay."

Clippers big men Chris Kaman and DeAndre Jordan paid most of all. The Hawks' guards made a concentrated effort to get the ball inside, and Kaman and Jordan couldn't handle Horford, who also made 7 of 9 free throws.

"That was as good as he's been since I've been here as far as scoring the ball," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "He had a couple plays where they just tagged him and he completed the play."

Horford's big night was part of a focused effort for the Hawks. They had talked about recommitting for the final 31 games after the All-Star break, and they got off to a good start at that by jumping on the shorthanded Clippers early and keeping them down.

The Clippers pushed the Hawks while losing at Philips Arena on Feb. 3, but this wasn't the same team. Baron Davis sat out with a sore back; Marcus Camby was traded Monday; and Al Thornton was traded along with Sebastian Telfair before the game."