The Atlanta Hawks’ four-game winning streak ended on Monday night. They fell 124-114 to the Los Angeles Lakers in a game that felt like a coaching test the team failed. Luka Doncic scored 32 points to lead the charge, but the real story is how easy the Lakers looked.
Lakers coach JJ Redick praised his bench players after the game. He noted that Collin Sexton gave the team “some juice” while Sandro Mamukelashvili had his best game as a Laker. The Lakers missed Austin Reaves due to illness and Quentin Grimes due to injury, yet they still dominated. Redick said, “I thought Collin did a really nice job of giving us some juice, and Sandro had his best game as a Laker.”
Doncic Controlled the Floor
Luka Doncic was running the entire show and scoring. He finished with two blocks, five steals, eight rebounds, 10 assists and 32 points. The Lakers were short on secondary ball handlers, so he had to hold the ball constantly. Redick admitted this was “taxing” but praised how the star handled the pressure. The Hawks defense could not contain him.
Atlanta Misses Its Marks
The Hawks shot poorly from deep and could not close out the game. They cut the lead to 115-111 with 3:30 left on the clock, but a 6-0 run by Los Angeles ended the comeback hopes. Although Dyson Daniels guarded Doncic primarily, he failed to halt the offensive flow. The team finished with a 7-5 record, while the Lakers rose to 10-2 at the Western Conference summit. Al Jazeera reported that the Lakers made 15 of 35 shots, shooting 43% from beyond the arc as a team.
While the Hawks struggled, Victor Wembanyama was putting on a show for the Spurs. He dropped 40 points with 11 rebounds and eight blocks in a win over Phoenix. San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama, according to Al Jazeera, “There’s a lot of good going on, obviously.” The Spurs extended their winning streak to nine games.
