Returning Wilkins Gives Atlanta a Show : Pro basketball: Given a rousing welcome by fans, his 36 points lead Clippers to 97-94 upset of Hawks.

Dominique Wilkins came back to his old NBA home Friday night and put up the kind of numbers Atlanta fans frequently saw during his dozen seasons with the Hawks.

But this time he was on the other side, scoring 36 points as the Clippers ended Atlanta’s four-game winning streak with a 97-94 upset.

“I’d rank this with all the thrills I’ve had in the game,” Wilkins said. “It may be No. 1, in fact.”

“You play harder against your friends than your enemies,” Clipper Coach Bob Weiss said. “When you get traded, there is nobody you would rather beat than your buddies who you used to play with. This is special for me, too.”

It also was Weiss’ first time back to Atlanta since he was fired after last season.

Wilkins gave the Clippers a 93-92 lead on a rebound layup with one minute remaining, and Ron Harper hit an 18-footer and two free throws in the final 13 seconds as the two sparked a fourth-quarter comeback from a 74-67 deficit. Harper finished with 25 points, 12 in the final quarter.

Kevin Willis scored 23 points and Stacy Augmon 22 for the Hawks, who went into the game with the best home record in the NBA. The loss dropped them out of a tie with New York for first place in the Eastern Conference.

It was Wilkins’ first trip to Atlanta since the Hawks traded him to the Clippers on Feb. 24 for Danny Manning, who was in foul trouble and scored only six points on three-for-10 shooting. Wilkins drew a pregame standing ovation that lasted for 1 minute 40 seconds.

“The fans got me going with a wonderful ovation,” Wilkins said. “It just shows you that they are genuine people. They are really behind me, even now. I was a little choked up, but it was wonderful.”

Hawk Coach Lenny Wilkens wasn’t at all pleased with his team.

“I just don’t think we played with the kind of smarts that we have been playing with,” Wilkens said. “It was just not a very good game for us. It’s tough because we’re in first place and we want to maintain first place. The’s the whole thing we’re playing for. And I was upset because of that.”

A three-pointer from the corner by Randy Woods tied the score, 76-76, with 9:30 to play before the Hawks appeared to regain control, eventually building an 88-81 lead.

Harper’s three-pointer highlighted a 7-0 run that got the Clippers even. Mookie Blaylock’s tip-in broke the tie before Wilkins converted a three-point play for a 91-90 lead. Jon Koncak gave Atlanta the lead again with a 16-footer before Wilkins put the Clippers ahead to stay on a rebound layup with one minute to play.