In a commanding victory, Trae Young and Dejounte Murray led the Atlanta Hawks (20-27) to a 138-122 win over the fatigued Los Angeles Lakers (24-25), who were playing their second game in as many nights.
Anticipating the Lakers’ weariness, the Hawks capitalized on their energy, with Young hitting his first six attempts from beyond the arc, setting the tone for Atlanta’s dominance.
The Lakers, missing Anthony Davis, struggled to maintain defensive presence, allowing the Hawks to control the game, extending their lead to 17 points early in the second half.
Despite Austin Reaves scoring 28 points and LeBron James adding 20, the Lakers fell below .500, facing challenges both in the absence of Davis and defensively.
Lakers legend James Worthy, analyzing the game on Spectrum SportsNet, acknowledged the hurdles the team is currently facing, stating, “Lot of challenges for this team right now.”
Worthy highlighted the Lakers’ defensive struggles in the paint without Davis, allowing the Hawks to capitalize with layup after layup.
Despite shooting decent percentages from the field and beyond the arc, the Lakers struggled at the free-throw line, missing 11 crucial opportunities.
“Tonight without AD. Percentages-wise you look at it they shot about even. Lakers 53%, the Hawks 52%. Shot the ball decent from the three. Free-throw line, they missed 11. That’s something probably they could have been better at,” Worthy said.
“With no AD in the paint, Atlanta just did whatever they wanted to. They knew there was no presence there. Layup after layup, after layup, after layup.”
Worthy noted the Lakers’ turnovers as a key factor, stating that every time they decreased the deficit, turnovers halted their comeback, allowing the Hawks to maintain control.
“Lakers turned the ball over, they capitalized on that,” he said. “The Lakers just couldn’t seem to make any difference in their comeback. Every time they decreased the deficit a little bit, they turn it over and the Hawks would [Trae] Young was six-for-six from the three for a long time there. And they hurt the Lakers in so many different ways. It’s just one of those games where they didn’t have the presence defensively, they couldn’t stop them.”
