The Hawks (6-21) stuck with the Lakers (24-3) until the final seconds, but couldn't capitalize on late opportunities in a 101-96 loss Sunday at State Farm Arena.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
1. Entering Sunday's game, on paper, it seemed the Lakers were poised for a blowout win (similar to their 122-101 victory Nov. 17 in Los Angeles). This time, the top squad in the Western Conference was seriously tested by a team that was recently picked apart by the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks competed with the Lakers from start to finish, never getting down by more than 11 points, and that's an encouraging sign, even in a loss. The stiff competition brought out the best in the Hawks, coach Lloyd Pierce said post-game: "When we see who's on their team and on their roster, you have that appropriate fear and so it locks in you in a little bit more, you're afraid to make a mistake, so you do your best to compete. I think they brought out our competitive level tonight and I was really proud of all our guys, just the way they were competing and battling."
2. The Hawks trailed by four points heading into the fourth quarter, with a 3-pointer and two free throws by Trae Young, who led the Hawks with 30 points and seven assists, narrowing the deficit to 97-94 with 2:17 to play. Later, two throws by De'Andre Hunter pulled the Hawks within two at 98-96. The Lakers' LeBron James missed one of two free throws to make it a three-point game. On the Hawks' next possession, rookie Cam Reddish missed the game-tying 3-point shot with 9.7 seconds left, and the Lakers were able to hold on. It's a tough pill for a rookie to swallow, though Young and other teammates encouraged Reddish after the miss. It's a moment that can motivate Reddish moving forward, Pierce said: "He wasn't quite shot-ready, but he had a great look. It's one of those things, it's kind of like a rite of passage. You come into the NBA, you're looking to make these plays and the burden of not making it is what propels you to get in the gym and look for that moment and do it with that type of intensity and that type of pressure every day."
3. James (32 points, 13 rebounds) and Anthony Davis (27 points, 13 rebounds) still had success, but as a whole, the Lakers didn't have a good shooting night. The Hawks held them to 42.9% from the field (they entered the game at 48.7%, which was the best rate in the league entering Sunday), and 16.1% from 3-point range (5 for 31). Some of that is the Lakers simply missing shots, but a lot of it was the Hawks' defense making things difficult for them. "All of their shots were tough," Pierce said. "We made them take tough shots, and that's really a credit to our defense and just happy our guys competed that way tonight."
4. The problem was, the Hawks didn't have a great shooting night either. The team shot 36% from the field and 28.6% from 3-point range (12-for-42), which prevented them from capitalizing much. But they had a 25-24 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks mostly to their 3-point shooting (5 for 14 in the first), which certainly has not been a strength of theirs. The Hawks' sixth 3-pointer of the night came before the Lakers' first (which eventually came courtesy of LeBron James at the 6:40 mark of the second quarter), with a 3 by Jabari Parker keeping it close for the Hawks, 31-28, with 8:44 to play in the second. An out-of-character amount of turnovers by the Lakers (22) also helped, though the Hawks had 19 themselves.
5. Midway through the fourth quarter, Kevin Huerter went back to the locker room. He was diagnosed with a left shoulder contusion and did not return to the game. It's the same shoulder Huerter injured in Denver, which kept him out for 11 games. According to Huerter, the injury occurred when trying to box out Dwight Howard. More tests will be done on the shoulder Monday: "We're hoping it's not as serious as it was in Denver. It's the same shoulder, but we'll do more tomorrow. We haven't done any tests yet… Arm kind of went limp on me. Felt similar to Denver, but we're hoping it's not, just initial feedback that we got from doctors."
By the Numbers
14 (the season-high amount of steals the Lakers tallied)
Quotable
“If we play that hard, we can compete with anybody ... I think everybody was ‘up’ a little bit more since we were going against the Lakers. We’ve got to be ‘up’ like that every night.” — Trae Young on the Hawks’ energy level
