The Hawks looked to bounce back from their heartbreaking loss to the Nets two days earlier. But LeBron James put on a show on his birthday to help the Lakers to a 130-121 win Friday at State Farm Arena.
Here are five observations.
1. The Hawks (17-19) may have been able to hold James to just two points in the first quarter. But the four-time NBA champion reminded them why he is the best at what he does at the ripe young age of 38.
James scored a season-high 47 points, had 10 rebounds and nine assists. He and Russell Westbrook helped to carve the Hawks up as James often pushed the ball ahead to his teammates.
“As I mentioned before, (James’) IQ is really extremely high,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “And he understands time/score situation, what he needs to do. He got his teammates involved, moving the ball, advancing the ball.”
2. In addition to giving up plenty of fast-break points, the Hawks also struggled to contain the Lakers on the glass. Despite missing the injured Anthony Davis, Los Angeles outrebounded the Hawks 55-41 with Thomas Bryant grabbing 17 of them.
Clint Capela has been a huge presence for the Hawks on the defensive glass and the team has had some strong nights from Onyeka Okongwu, John Collins and Jalen Johnson.
But their lack of size on Bryant, as well as James, caught up to them on Friday.
The Hawks also didn’t give themselves much of a chance after taking some of their shots early in the clock before the rest of the offense had time to get set. As a result, the Lakers were able to get into better positions to contest for those boards.
“(The Lakers) were setting (for rebounds) a lot,” Okongwu said. “We could have gotten downhill. We didn’t shoot that great from the 3-point line, so they’re able to rebound and run, to be honest.”
3. The Hawks did get off to a solid start on both sides of the ball early, holding the Lakers to 39.1% shooting overall and 12.5% shooting from 3-point range.
But the Hawks’ lack of size eventually caught up to them in the remaining three quarters of the game.
The Hawks have struggled defensively in the absence of both De’Andre Hunter and Capela over the last three games. Over this stretch they have given up 29 fast-break points to the Pacers Tuesday and another 23 to the Lakers.
Both Hunter (left ankle sprain) and Capela (right calf strain) have been pivotal pieces in the Hawks’ defensive game plan. Hunter has typically guarded the opposing team’s best perimeter player, while Capela has helped protect the rim when players slip through.
But with the two out, the Hawks’ defense has been under strain with opponents getting whatever shot they want.
The Lakers were the latest to take advantage of that and forced the Hawks to roll with Okongwu trying to guard James. With the young center out on the perimeter, it exposed the paint and allowed James to find guys like Bryant down low.
It also gave Bryant ample time to set himself up in prime position to attack the glass.
If the Hawks adjusted and put someone smaller on James, he would use the mismatch to his advantage and attack or shoot over the top. So, the Hawks had limited answers for slowing the 18-time All-Star.
“I mean, LeBron is bigger than every guy that we had tonight,” McMillan said. “He’s the four. So we had Onyeka and John, and Jalen, trying to stay in front of him while boxing out Bryant, who did a good job of placing himself under the basket. So when we were rotating normally it was a small down there picking him up. And he took advantage of that.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
4. The Hawks saw the return of Trae Young after the guard missed their matchup against the Nets on Wednesday. Young scored 29 points and doled out eight assists in his return to the rotation.
Young did not have his best night from deep, after he shot the ball well in the four games leading up to his absence. Young went 0-of-4 from 3-point range but continued to give the Hawks some good production inside the arc, some of which got him some trips to the line.
The 24-year-old guard drew so much contact that he briefly left the bench following his first stint with a back contusion. He returned and finished out the game, though.
“I just hoop, man,” Young said following the game. “I get banged around a lot, bro. I just I get hit a lot. I’m a small guy out there playing with giants.”
5. The Hawks as a whole struggled from long range, knocking down just 28.9% of their shots from deep. The team is 5-7 when they shoot under 30% from 3-point range.
Stat to know
Atlanta won the points-off-of-turnovers battle for the 22nd time this season, outscoring Los Angeles 13-8.
Quotable
“We just overall collectively as a unit just got to be better taking the ball, I mean LeBron had ... you know it’s LeBron really had one of those games. So, we’ll bounce back and get it together and get ready for this West Coast trip.” -- Onyeka Okongwu on why the Hawks struggled defensively against the Lakers.
Up next
The Hawks head out West for a four-game road trip, beginning with a stop against the Warriors on Monday.
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