Hawks struggle with turnovers, defense in 134-118 loss to Lakers

The Atlanta Hawks were in Los Angeles to take on the Lakers as they continue their west coast road trip. Reinforcements were back for this game as John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Jalen Johnson returned from health and safety protocols. Despite being close to fully healthy, the Hawks fell to the Lakers 134-118.

The Hawks got off to a slow start, committing three turnovers and the Lakers scoring six points off of them. The Lakers went on a 13-0 run early in the first, as they led 18-6.

With the Lakers going small ball, the Hawks started to take advantage of their size in the paint, which led to them closing the gap. Onyeka Okongwu was solid, scoring eight points in six minutes off the bench.

The Hawks went with an all-bench lineup going into the second quarter. They were able to keep it close to begin, but the defense struggled to stop the Lakers from three. Malik Monk got it going, and pushed the Lakers lead to 19 points.

Trae Young came back into the game and cut into the Lakers lead, orchestrating the offense and bringing them within three and going on a 27-11 run to end the first half.

The Hawks started the second half just like they started the first: missed shots and poor transition defense. Monk continued to hurt the Hawks, as he hit two early threes in the quarter. Collins started to get involved, scoring off of two dunks which brought the Lakers lead down to four.

It was the Lakers who laid the biggest punch in the third, as they scored 37 points in the quarter and went on a run with their second unit. Young played the entire quarter but was not able to push the Hawks as he did in the first half. The Lakers led 101-87 to start the fourth.

The Lakers increased their lead by 19 in the fourth, but the Hawks continued to fight hitting timely buckets. Young reached a new franchise record in the quarter, scoring 25 or more points in the 17th consecutive game passing Dominique Wilkins.

In the end, the Hawks weren’t able to string together enough stops, and the Lakers couldn’t miss from three. Young finished with 25 points, 14 assists, and nine rebounds, while Collins finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.

They’ll be back at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday to face the Clippers.