Hawks Soar Past Lakers

Not exactly the 5-0 record that Phil Jackson had envisioned, the Los Angeles Lakers were thumped by the Atlanta Hawks, 109-92 at Philips Arena to conclude their road trip at 2-3. In the process, the Lakers seemed to have lost all of their swagger after disappointing, lackluster performances in Oklahoma City, New Orleans and now, Atlanta. Kobe Bryant (28 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds) tried to keep the Lakers in the game and early on, he was the entire offense, amassing 20-points in the first half alone. But as has been the case in recent weeks, he got little help anywhere else. Pau Gasol (16 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers) had only a handful of touches in the paint as the Lakers again chose to challenge the Hawks from outside. Joe Johnson (25 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds) led the Hawks but got ample support from his bench. Former Lakers Mo Williams (18 points, 2 rebounds) and 6th Man-of-the-Year candidate Jamal Crawford (14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) were more than enough firepower for the 48-26 Hawks. Atlanta’s bench outscored the Lakers reserves, 48-22. Jordan Farmar (16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) was the lone bright spot off the bench, but the majority of his points came when the Lakers were clearly on their way to their third lopsided loss of this road trip.

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The first quarter saw the Lakers stay within striking distance of the Hawks, matching them basket for basket. But what became evident early was that the Lakers were not prepared to handle the Hawks potent backcourt. Mike Bibby (12 points, 2 rebounds) scored the first seven points as he was able to get free for uncontested perimeter shots. And as the Lakers failed to score from anywhere on the court, they resorted to handing the ball to Bryant, and Kobe delivered. Kobe captivated the crowd with a display of offensive prowess, scoring on a variety of jump shots. But the Hawks were more than willing to allow Kobe to take control of the offense as they held down the rest of the squad. Missed free throws (18-26 for 69.2%) would become a familiar theme as these scoring opportunities were lost. Even Kobe (2-6) had a difficult time from the charity stripe as each of his misses came up short. Perhaps bothered again by his heavily bandaged index finger, Kobe simply could not knock them down tonight.

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The Hawks took a 10-point lead into halftime behind the play of Crawford and Johnson. Zaza Pachulia (10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) played an effective game off the bench, neutralizing Gasol’s presence in the paint. Starter Al Horford (10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) took turns with Pachulia forcing Gasol out of his comfort zone and with Lamar Odom (7 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) unable to generate any offense of his own, Josh Smith (12 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocked shots) was able to provide abundant, weak-side help. Ron Artest (15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal) was able to provide some early offense, but like the rest of the team, could not find the trigger later in the game as the hot-shooting Hawks clamped down on defense and limited the Lakers to only 20-points in the 2nd period. The Hawks would extend their lead in the third quarter as Johnson heated up from outside the arc. The Hawks had balanced scoring throughout their line-up and each time the Lakers would attempt to make a run, Atlanta would come storming back to reestablish their double-digit lead.

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The Lakers entered the final period down by 16-points, 80-64. A pair of Farmar treys would narrow the gap to 85-73 but poor interior defense would allow the Hawks to score easily at the other end. The Lakers were incapable of making any stops and would get no closer than a dozen. Sloppy passes and missed defensive assignments plagued the Lakers throughout this trip. The Lakers looked worn out and past the first quarter, never really threatened to take control of this game. The Lakers limp home only a game and a half in front of the Orlando Magic for the second best record in the league. Andrew Bynum (strained achilles tendon) still appears to be weeks away before his return to the line-up. With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Lakers now have Orlando in their rear-view mirror as the Cavaliers have sped off with the best record and are now a spec in the distance. Up next for these Houdini Lakers are the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on Friday, and it would be great if they could muster up enough strength to flip the switch.