Hawks extend winning streak to seven with comeback effort vs. Lakers, 129-121

The Atlanta Hawks took on the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday afternoon in search of their seventh consecutive win. The Hawks were able to extend their streak in this one, defeating the Lakers 129-121.

Trae Young led all scorers with 36 points and 12 assists in the win. John Collins added 20 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while Onyeka Okongwu finished with 16 points and five rebounds.

Malik Monk had 33 points for the Lakers with Anthony Davis adding 27 points in the loss.

Collins was very active in the early going, scoring eight of Atlanta’s first 12 points.

Kevin Huerter hit a triple in the first, moving him into eight place all-time in Hawks history with 476 three-pointers.

The Lakers got off to a hot start offensively, scoring 19 points on their first 11 possessions. Russell Westbrook had four assists on their first eight baskets.

Young got himself going in transition, pushing the pace for a layup off of a Lakers turnover.

The Hawks led the Lakers 34-33 after the first quarter, with a three-pointer from Danilo Gallinari putting them ahead just ahead of the buzzer.

The Lakers took control in the second quarter, however, scoring 38 points in the period. Los Angeles shot 76% from the field in the second, going 16-of-21 from the field. Atlanta was 11-of-19 from the floor, but committed seven turnovers in the quarter. Los Angeles took a 71-62 lead into the half.

Monk led all scorers with 19 first-half points. Young had 16 points and six assists at the break.

The Hawks pulled within one at the 6:45 mark in the third quarter with a 12-2 run.

The majority of the buckets came inside before a Young three-pointer that cut it to one led to a Lakers timeout.

Young hit another three to give the Hawks the lead out of the timeout.

The Lakers punched back however with a 14-2 run, going up 101-90 late in the third. After Gallinari hit a free throw on a technical foul by Carmelo Anthony, Atlanta trailed by ten heading to the fourth quarter.

The Hawks rallied back with a 16-5 start to the fourth quarter, with Lou Williams hitting a three-pointer to put the home team ahead 107-106 with 7:26 to go.

Okongwu had five huge dunks in the fourth quarter while battling Davis on both ends to the finish.

Young and the Hawks continued to throw punches down the stretch. Bogdanovic found a way to tap this back to Young for an open three after Davis walled off Young’s attempt to get to the rim.

Okongwu continued to dunk the basketball as the Hawks and Lakers traded punches down the stretch.

Young got going in the last few moments, and hit a big three-pointer in Westbrook’s face to give the Hawks a four-point lead with under a minute to go.

The Hawks would pull away with a few stops from there, extending their winning streak to seven games. Atlanta will host the Toronto Raptors on Monday night to complete the back-to-back.

Stay tuned.