The Hawks had a chance – but a late pass and a bobbled catch cost them.
The failed execution of a designed play in the final nine seconds left the Hawks on the losing end of a 99-98 decision to the Lakers Sunday night at the Staples Center. The Hawks overcame deficits of 11 and 16 points only to suffer their second straight loss.
On the final possession, Devin Harris had the ball at the top of the key. The Hawks set a screen for Kyle Korver and Josh Smith slipped underneath the basket as two Lakers chased the guard. Harris’ pass was late and Smith couldn’t control the ball. His last-ditch attempt to throw the ball back was intercepted by Steve Blake.
Game over.
“We sent Kyle off a screen, sent him back and Josh was to slip the screen,” Harris said. “I was a little bit late on the pass and that put Smoove in a bad position and he couldn’t get a shot.”
Coach Larry Drew said the Hawks ran the designed play following a timeout.
“We executed it very well,” Drew said. “Both (defenders) came to Kyle, Josh slipped it and we got it to him. He just bobbled it. He lost control of it a little bit and was off balance and tried to make a pass out.”
The Hawks (33-25) lost their fourth straight to the Lakers and seventh in a row at the Staples Center. They have not won in Los Angeles in over two years, their last win came Jan. 2, 2011 against the Clippers.
Kobe Bryant saved the Lakers – several times. The star scored 11 of the Lakers’ 20 fourth-quarter points, including their final six. His emphatic dunk with 2:12 remaining gave the Lakers a one-point lead, 95-94, after Jeff Teague hit a pair of free throws to put the Hawks up. Bryant answered a Teague floating layup with a pair of free throws after being fouled by Smith with 33.5 seconds remaining. The Hawks took their last lead, 98-97, when Smith found Al Horford under the basket with 26.7 seconds left. Bryant scored the final points of the game, on his way to a game-high 34 points, with a driving layup over Smith that banked in high off the backboard and set up the final sequence.
Bryant also rescued the Lakers after they lost nearly all of a 16-point third-quarter lead. Leading 76-73, he drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the period. Those points would prove valuable.
“We certainly had opportunity to fold the tent maybe three times during the game where they created separation from us,” Drew said. “But we hung in there. We fought back. We put ourselves in position to win it at the end.”
Horford led the Hawks with 24 points, his ninth straight game with 20 or more points. Smith finished with 19 points but his 0-for-6 night at the free-throw line proved costly. Harris and Korver each finished with 16 points. Korver extended his streak to 52 games with a 3-pointer.
Drew pointed to costly turnovers as the ultimate reason for the defeat. The Hawks committed 14 turnovers, with Smith (6) and Horford (5) being charged with most of them. The Hawks did force the Lakers into 21 turnovers.
“We just turned the ball over too many times, particularly on the road, in crucial times,” Drew said. “We talk a lot about controlling the tempo of the game, controlling the rhythm of the game. I just think there were times where our turnovers really cost us. There were times where we had a little bit of momentum. We had come down and get a stop and then we turn the ball over. We just can’t play like that on the road.”
The Lakers (30-30) won their second straight. Steve Nash (15 points, 10 assists), Metta World Peace (13 points), Dwight Howard (11 points, 15 rebounds) and Antawn Jamison (10 points) were the other double-digit scorers. Howard had only two second-half points on 1 of 3 shooting.
The Lakers built a 16-point third-quarter lead with a 13-4 run out of halftime. The Hawks fought back with a 22-9 run with the last 12 points coming from Harris, three 3-pointers and a three-point play. However, Bryant drained his buzzer-beater.
The Lakers lead 52-45 after a back-and-forth first half. The Lakers built an 11-point first-quarter advantage. The Hawks answered with a 23-5 run between the quarters, including the first 11 points of the second period, and led by seven. However, the Lakers went on a 14-2 run to regain control before intermission.
The Hawks trailed 30-26 after the first quarter despite the Lakers shooting 68.4 percent (13 of 19) from the field.
Center Johan Petro came off the bench with some impressive minutes for the Hawks after starter Zaza Pachulia drew two first-quarter fouls. Petro played 17 first-half minutes, one more than his previous season high, and had six points, eight rebounds and three steals.
The Hawks are now 3-2 on their season-long six-game road trip that ends in Denver Monday.
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