John Collins had plenty of reasons to smile after the Hawks’ 99-94 win vs. the shorthanded defending NBA champion Lakers on Saturday afternoon at Staples Center.
First, his huge performance, with a double-double of 27 points and 16 rebounds, with three blocks and three steals, helped the Hawks (22-20) start their eight-game trip with a win. Second, the Hawks have won their eighth consecutive game for the first time since winning 19 consecutive games from Dec. 27, 2014 to Jan. 31, 2015, the year they went undefeated in January.
“I’m just happy we can continue the win streak,” Collins said. “If I play well and we win, the more the merrier, so all in all. I’m just a happy camper.”
Collins went 11-for-15 from the floor, going 1-for-2 from 3-point range and 4-for-5 from the line. The Hawks didn’t have a great game shooting overall (39.8% from the floor, 35.1% from 3, 88.9% FT), but Collins carried the offense, with a good defensive performance, as well.
“He’s unbelievable,” said Trae Young, who added a double-double of 14 points (6-18 FG, 0-7 from 3, 2-2 FT) and 11 assists. “He’s been playing great. They’re going to continue to send two (defenders) and leave him open, and he’s going to continue to knock ‘em down and make the right play. It’s just great seeing him play the way he’s been playing, right now. And we’re going to need it from him, the rest of the season, so he’s been playing great.”
The Hawks led by three after the first quarter, despite Clint Capela (eight points, 16 rebounds) picking up two early fouls and playing only three minutes, and trailed by one at the half. For most of the game, they didn’t have to contend with the star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as Davis missed the game with a left calf strain and James departed early in the second quarter with a right ankle injury. Solomon Hill was called for a foul on the play, which Lakers forward Montrezl Harrell said postgame needed to be looked at – Hill responded on Twitter after the game, tweeting he “would never disrespect the game and take a player out purposely.”
Per ESPN, James was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and is out indefinitely.
With James out, the Hawks took advantage in the third quarter, starting with a 12-0 run to take a 64-53 lead. Overall, the Lakers also struggled shooting, making 30.8% of their 3-point attempts. They also committed 16 turnovers to the Hawks’ eight.
The Hawks held the Lakers (28-14) to 12 points in the third and went up 85-71 with 8:59 to play in the fourth after back-to-back 3′s by Danilo Gallinari and Hill. Off the bench, Gallinari added 18 points, Bogdan Bogdanovic added 10 and Hill added nine, with Rajon Rondo adding five assists and two points against his old team.
Down the stretch, the Lakers whittled a 14-point deficit to five, as the Hawks rushed shots and Harrell scored 16 points in the fourth quarter alone. But, the Hawks buckled down and did just enough to get the win.
“Just continue to try to build on what we’ve been doing,” McMillan said. “As I told them in the locker room tonight, just as we’ve won eight games in a row, you can lose four, five, six, seven, eight games in a row if you don’t play the game the right way, and it was good for us to start this road trip off right. It’s always good to start off with a win, and this is, it’s the champions.
“I know LeBron was out tonight, but you still have to beat this team, and I thought we were able to finish the game.”
McMillan also said he liked the way Collins showed patience in the win.
“I thought he did a good job of just attacking,” McMillan said. “He got a lot of offensive rebounds; he was finishing in the paint. When he had matchups in the post, he was taking his time and really taking advantage of the small matchup in the post. So I thought he was just really patient tonight and took what the defense gave him.”
Continuing their road trip, the Hawks will face the Clippers on Monday.
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