The Hawks had a chance to exact a measure of revenge.
Instead they were left with a feeling of deja vu.
The Hawk opened a 13-point lead on the Lakers only to drop a 109-94 decision Sunday night at Staples Center. The Hawks had a 12-point lead on the Lakers only to lose the game in Atlanta in November.
The Hawks (10-7) were left licking their wounds after losing for the fifth time in the past six games. Oh, and they play at the Warriors on Monday.
The Hawks trailed by as many as 11 points after a dreadful second quarter. They closed to within four points, 86-82, early in the fourth quarter. However, former Hawk Lou Williams made five straight free throws to put an end to the threat. The last three after he suckered Malcolm Delaney into a foul on an attempt from behind the 3-point line.
The Hawks were led by Kent Bazemore with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Dwight Howard added 19 points and nine rebounds. The Hawks also got double-digit points from
Dennis Schroder (11), Kyle Korver (10) and Mike Muscala (10).
The Lakers (9-9) snapped a two-game losing streak and swept the season series from the Hawks. Williams led four double-digit scorers with 21 points and Larry Nance Jr. had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hawks’ recent woes have been from a poor offense. They failed to break 100 points for the sixth straight game.
“Anytime we are sloppy and we are not playing with the execution and the pace, it’s a big part if we are going to be good offensively, we need to execute and we need to do it with pace,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game. “That takes a lot of energy, takes a lot of effort. I think our guys understand that. When you see the film, you can see when we are doing that and when we are not. We are also learning each other a little bit too. It’s going to take some time. We’ve hit a little bit of a rough patch and we are working through it.
“There is an energy and a pace that has to be married with execution. You can just be running around crazy and think that good things are going to happen. You have to marry the pace with the execution. I don’t think we’ve had very good of either recently.”
There is still work to do.
About the Author
