After losing to the Denver Nuggets without Bogdan Bogdanovic and Jalen Johnson, the Hawks got both back against the Lakers as they continued their trip to the West Coast. Therefore, they were able to field their usual starting lineup of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson and Clint Capela. Young had 33 points and nine assists, but the rest of Atlanta’s offense failed. Johnson scored 19 points on 8-13 shooting and Onyeka Okongwu posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. However, the Hawks were unable to reverse Denver’s scenario and lost again by double digits in a 119-102 loss to LA.

Austin Reaves, Max Christie, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis started on the Lakers side. Davis returned to the lineup after not playing against Portland the night before. He looked very comfortable against the Hawks, collecting a double-double with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Austin Reaves had 20 points and seven assists, but as always, James was the headliner, finishing the game with 30 points and eight assists.

The fact that the team was much healthier than it was against Denver made the difference for much of the game tonight. The Hawks played reasonably solid basketball for three quarters and outscored the Lakers in the turnover battle. However, the Lakers took control of the game early on. Three minutes before the end of the first quarter it was 22:15 before Bogdanovic made it 22:18 with a huge three-pointer. That sparked a Hawks run that featured great finishes from Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson as well as a deep three-pointer from Young. The Hawks ended the first frame trailing 28-31, but their momentum late in the quarter suggested they could close the gap in the 2nd quarter.

That didn’t happen. The Hawks’ defense was particularly poor in the 2nd quarter as it allowed the Lakers to commit fouls and keep Atlanta at bay. Atlanta cut the deficit to 34-32 on a Young floater, but then allowed Dalton Knecht to hit a deep three-pointer off an assist from Austin Reaves. Young and Jaxson Hayes were also called for a double technical after a brief exchange. Atlanta cut the deficit to three points, but then Knecht hit his second three-pointer of the night to make the score 42-48 with 6:27 left. From there, Atlanta began to find some success at the rim. Bogdanovic, Capela and Johnson have all changed their looks. However, Knecht hit his third three-pointer of the night to give LA some breathing room. Johnson responded with a three-pointer of his own, but LeBron came through with five points at the end and kept the Hawks at bay.

At halftime the Hawks trailed 65-57. They shot 46% from the field and 27% from three in the first half. In contrast, the Lakers shot 51% from the field and 38% from three. Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 14 points, while Young had 12 points and four assists. Anthony Davis posted a double-double in the first half, dropping 17 points and 11 rebounds, while LeBron James had five assists for 14 points of his own. However, the real story of Atlanta’s deficit was their three-point shooting and loss in the FT battle. The Hawks went 4-for-15 from three in the half and shot four free throws to LA’s 16.

In the third quarter, Reaves opened the second half by hitting a deep three-pointer, increasing the deficit to 11. However, the Hawks showed signs of improvement on both ends of the court. Dyson Daniels had three turnovers while forcing two steals and fouls on LeBron. Unfortunately, James hit a deep three-pointer to restore the Lakers’ lead to 11. While LA could have easily driven the Hawks off the field early in the quarter, Young wouldn’t let that happen. He starred as a finisher while also hitting a deep three-pointer to breathe new life into the Hawks. Jalen Johnson hit a layup with 7:45 left in the quarter to tie the eight-point game at 72-80, but was fouled, ending the game 73-80. But poor offensive play by Atlanta, with both Young and Risacher missing their attempts, led to LeBron getting the rebound and Max Christie throwing down a dunk. Reaves hit another three-pointer to give LA another 11-point lead, but Atlanta’s defense began turning some of the Lakers’ possessions into unsuccessful attempts. This was largely thanks to a fantastic performance from Dyson Daniels, who increased his steal count to four after tracking Reaves on the perimeter. Daniels and Okongwu both shot inside to make the game 80-85. Once again, two shots from Dorian Finney-Smith gave LA the momentum for the third time when they needed it most. This allowed the Lakers to take a 96-86 lead in the fourth quarter.

As he has done so many times in his career, LeBron put on a superstar performance in the fourth quarter and the Hawks had no answer. Atlanta trailed by 10 points early in the quarter and James found Reaves for an easy shot, making it a 12-point game. James himself scored 10 points in six minutes as he continually rattled the Hawks’ defense. Reaves and Rui Hachimura hit threes of their own and ultimately put the game away. After those shots, it was essentially a ball game as the Hawks’ offensive performance meant they didn’t have a realistic chance of staging a 15-point comeback with 3:30 remaining.

This was a very bad game for both the Hawks defense and DeAndre Hunter. Hunter scored 3 points on 1-12 shooting from the field and 0-6 shooting from long range. However, he has been Atlanta’s most consistent bench option this year, so it’s difficult to imagine that being a problem going forward. The Hawks’ defensive issues are the bigger problem. They appeared disorganized in relief defense and the outfield, often giving up attacks to the rim and being unable to close on shooters. This trend must be stopped if the Hawks want to seriously make the Eastern Conference playoffs. It doesn’t help when they shoot 17.6% from deep and only hit six threes all night, while LA hit 43.3 of their 30 attempts from beyond the arc.

They have a chance to get back on track tomorrow night against the Clippers at 10:30 PM EST.

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