(FINAL UPDATE: 11:30 p.m.)

With a dented roster, a lineup to make even the most ardent NBA fan look sideways and the presumably lame-duck Josh Smith sitting out with a knee injury and, yes, after another benching (sssssh), this didn’t figure to be a night the Hawks would juice their playoff seeding or season-ticket sales.

They were sliding (losing six of seven and 14 of 19 since a 20-10 start). They were facing the suddenly functioning Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers. They were starting their 23rd different lineup of the season, and probably the weakest of them all. In the eyes of most: No. 30, No. 10, No. 4, No. 34 and Al Horford.

And with this worst of all backdrops, they won, anyway. Of course. They do this. Move aside “Miracle on Ice.”

The Hawks led by as many as 14 points in the first half, lost the lead in the third when Kobe Bryant followed a three-point first-half with a 20-point third, showed remarkable resilience with a depleted team and held on to defeat Los Angeles 96-92 at Philips Arena (which was half-filled with Lakers fans).

So they’re not dead yet.

"This means a lot, especially having Jeff [Teague] and Josh out," said Al Horford, who set the tone early defensively and finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. "think we came together closer as a team, and hopefully this is the start of something good for us."

Bryant suffered what the Lakers are calling a severely sprained ankle in the final seconds and is out indefinitely. He later suggested the Hawks' Dahntay Jones, whose foot he landed on, causing the injury, should've done more to get out of the way after his shot. Really?

He's not going to get much sympathy from the Hawks. With Teague (ankle) and Smith (knee) out of the lineup, joining Zaza Pachulia and Lou Williams, even the most optimistic of athletes like Horford figured to have some doubts about how this night would unfold.

"That’s the way you look at the beginning," he said. "But I thought we had a very focused walk-through and then when we got out on the court, I told the guys, ‘Listen, let’s just play for each other.’ At the beginning I’m sure everybody thought, ‘loss.’ But everybody stepped up."

Smith was the most notable absence. Drew said he didn’t realize Smith couldn’t play until he got to the arena. But the coach acknowledged (kinda, sorta) that he had a problem with Smith the night before in Miami that extended beyond injury.

With 5:40 left in the third quarter at Miami, Smith missed a 20-foot jumper. He was pulled at the next timeout, six seconds later. At the time, the Hawks trailed by only seven points (63-56). Smith spent the rest of the game on the bench.

When asked if the player was pulled for some reason other than injury, Drew laughed and responded, “That was just a coach’s decision. I’ll put it that way.”

Sometimes, what’s not said reveals as much as what is.

Drew said he did not put Smith back into the game in the fourth quarter because Miami had blown it open, and he knew the Hawks had a game the next night. That part is certainly plausible.

Regardless of where the truth lies, the remaining upright portion of the Hawks’ roster showed remarkable resolve. Six players scored in double figures, led by Devin Harris's 17. That’s big at this time of season, as the Hawks have slid all the way to seventh in the Eastern Conference standings.

Holding this team together isn’t an easy task for Drew, but he says he’s not feeling pressure to turn things around.

“I just have to recognize, given what our schedule is, that there’s times I’m going to have to back off and allow them time to heal,” he said. “The last thing I want to do at this stage is run them into the ground.”

Drew has obvious detractors. He has since Day 1, when he was viewed as the cheap option to replace Mike Woodson. But he has done a solid job in his two-plus seasons, and he's in a thankless situation. He's coaching an undersized roster that has been stripped down by new general manager Danny Ferry for payroll purposes and is in the midst of being rebuilt. There also was the Smith trade saga before the deadline.

Still, the Hawks did the improbable against the Lakers. They led by 11 points at halftime, 54-43. They shot over 52 percent (23-44). They committed only five first-half turnovers after fumbling to a season-high 24 in Miami.

Meanwhile, the Lakers played the first half in a fog. After belting Orlando the night before, they didn’t defend well and began the game shooting 3-for-13. But Bryant woke up everybody in the second half. After a three-point first half, he poured in 20 in the third quarter. The Hawks led only 76-74 entering the fourth. Bryant’s three-pointer with 18 seconds left closed it to 93-92. But that’s as close as the Lakers got. Bryant missed three shots down the stretch, then turned his ankle and had to sit out the final 2.6 seconds.

Some things, you just don’t see coming.