Lakers Shoot Down the Hawks

The Los Angeles Lakers intensity was a welcome sight after their lackluster performance against Dallas, and although the upstart Atlanta Hawks kept pace with them for most of the game, a 30-18 third quarter powered them to a convincing 118-110 victory at Staples Center. Atlanta tried to push the action at every opportunity, and with former Lakers-killer Mike Bibby (15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists), leading the charge, the young guns of the Hawks flourished, especially Joe Johnson (27 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists), who managed 18 points in the 1st quarter alone. But Kobe Bryant, (41 points, 5 steals, 8 rebounds, 3 assists), forged the Lakers’ will early and he attacked relentlessly. His shooting woes from the last contest quickly became a faint memory of the past. Andrew Bynum took advantage of the smaller Hawks and posted a quiet 21 points, but only managed 3 rebounds.

The Bench Mob also made their first definitive appearance of the season contributing 27 points for the game. Luke Walton (8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal), seemed much more mobile than anytime in the past two seasons and maneuvered around the court with ease. Walton’s play acted as a rudder for the Bench Mob’s offense with his heady execution and smart decisions. It was good to see a healthy Luke playing as we had always envisioned, hitting open shots and finding open teammates.

Atlanta opened the second half with two quick baskets, but the Lakers responded with good ball movement that had the Hawks spinning in circles. But Bibby continued his mastery over the Lakers and nailed a pair of treys, both times as the 24-second shot clock wound down. Kobe got loose for a breakaway dunk, and then D-Fish found him ahead of the pack for another thunderous dunk. A three-point attempt by Kobe caromed wide right, but Lamar Odom (11 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists), secured the rebound and found him cutting to the basket for a commanding 78-70 lead.

Atlanta is at its best when they’re freewheeling and running, but when they are forced into half court sets, their players tend to stand around and watch. Penetration drives and kick-outs are the extent of their offense and in the third period, shots began to fall short which then allowed the Lakers to unleash their transition game. With Kobe gaining the majority of the attention, Bynum got free for easy jams when the weak-side help was forced to react. Another Kobe steal found him going the other way 1-on-2 and he found a wide-open trailer in Ron Artest with a behind the back pass for a left-handed slam. Artest followed that up with a steal of his own and a breakaway two-handed jam, and Atlanta was forced to call time-out to try to stem the tide. The Lakers performed a dunkfest in the 3rd period mainly off of careless Hawks turnovers. The Lakers used a 18-0 run to break the game wide open and it seemed as though the Hawks had just as many turnovers in that span.

A 13-3 run midway through the 4th quarter forced a Lakers time-out and also forced Phil Jackson to insert his starters back into the game. But Kobe proved to be too much and the Lakers maintained their double-digit advantage as the Hawks started launching from deep. Artest played his best game as a Laker with a well-rounded stat line of 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots. He seemed to finally settle into his opportunities and benefitted by being aggressive and running the floor. His defensive presence, or perhaps more so his reputation, had the Hawks unwilling to tangle with him and he found himself bullying his way for rebounds and put backs. Three games doesn’t make a season but the team’s performance in the third quarter showed a glimpse as to what opponents can expect if the Lakers are hitting on all cylinders. Even without Pau Gasol, out for a third consecutive game with a pulled hamstring, the Lakers seemed to feast on their newfound defensive intensity unleashed in the period. Now if they can only build upon this victory and increase their tenacity to a full 48-minutes.