The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in an eye-opening 107-99 loss Monday night that many will find impressive.
Trae Young finished with 25 points and a season-high 16 assists. After a rough shooting first half, he came alive in the second half and made it competitive. While the assists are a season-high, Young’s seven turnovers hurt the Hawks tonight.
“We gotta do better taking care of the ball late, and that starts with me,” Young said after the game. “We understand the Lakers are a great team and a good measuring stick.”
Clint Capela recorded 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. His activity on the glass netted the offense some second-chance opportunities that kept the game close all night long.
John Collins scored 22 points on 10-17 shooting from the field and pulled down seven rebounds. He expressed slight frustrations following the game.
“It’s frustrating to lose a hard-fought game,” Collins said. “We can play with anybody … just clean up some of the small things and polish the edges.”
Cam Reddish played well on the defensive end as he held Lebron James to only 21 points. While Reddish only posted six points, Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce praised his rise to the occasion, forcing LeBron James into tough, contested shots.
“I thought Cam did a tremendous job against LeBron, made him work all night and before each possession started,” Pierce said. “LeBron had 21 points, and I think Cam had a lot to do with that.”
Pierce’s team continues to provide glimpses of challenging and competing with the league’s best. They will need this same effort as they continue a tough homestand against some of the league’s best opponents.
As expected, the reigning NBA champions did their thing, using some grit and critical plays late to seal the victory.
Anthony Davis scored a team-high 25 points on 10-14 shooting and a team-high three blocks as Collins made him work all night long. He knocked down his usual contested fadeaways, and it seemed only double teams corralled him into some turnovers.
James scored a quiet 21 points, nine on free throws, and added team-highs of seven rebounds and nine assists. As expected, he took over late when head coach Frank Vogel needed his future Hall of Famer.
Los Angeles also got significant contributions from Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder, who combined for 35 points. The pair gave Vogel a scoring edge when his stars were out of the game.
Their championship mentality was on full display showed at the end of the game. The Lakers’ late-game execution of forcing turnovers and knocking down pivotal shots was key to them sealing the victory.
That said, Atlanta should hold their head high after this one.
The Hawks stayed within striking distance of the defending champs, and with key players like De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic in the game, maybe they win this one. If they can fix the late-game woes, they can add more victories to the win column.
Atlanta will host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night for the second of their four-game homestand.
