The Hawks stumbled midway through the first quarter and dug a hole too deep for themselves to climb out of. They fell to the Lakers 124-114 on Monday night at State Farm Arena, snapping their four-game win streak.
Quick stats: CJ McCollum had 21 points off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 points. He has scored 20 or more points in five straight games, tied for the longest such scoring streak of his career. Onyeka Okongwu had 16 points and 9 rebounds. Jalen Johnson had 15 points and 7 rebounds.
Lakers guard Luka Doncic had 32 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists.
Turning point
The Hawks got to a 19-7 lead in the first 5:47 of the first quarter. Then the Hawks began to rotate their bench into the game and things fell apart.
They scored just 3 points in the final 5:13, while allowing the Lakers to go 5-of-8 from the floor in that span.
The Hawks never recovered despite cutting the game to four with 3:30 to play.
Highlight play
The Hawks made more 3s in the third quarter and it allowed them to really cut into the Lakers’ lead. A 3 from Daniels with 8:45 to play in the frame cut the Hawks’ deficit to single digits for the first time since the second quarter.
The Lakers left Daniels wide open at the top of the key and rookie guard Kingston Flemings found him with an over-the-shoulder pass. Daniels drained the jumper, bringing the Hawks within 72-64 after they’d trailed by as many as 15 in the third.
Up next
The Hawks have the next three days off before they travel to Chicago for an NBA Cup game against the Bulls on Friday.