Five observations from the Hawks’ 123-116 loss to the Lakers Wednesday night at Philips Arena.
1. The Hawks gave credit to the Lakers offense. Certainly it was deserved. However, the Hawks did not play like the NBA's top-ranked defense. Not in the slightest. The Lakers shot 54 percent for the game and 59 percent for the second half, which included 39 and 33 point quarters.
“One hundred and sixteen points, at the end of the day, is enough points,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We should win with 116 points.”
The Hawks try to force teams into mid-range shots. The Lakers made them – and more. The Lakers were 8 of 12 from 3-point range in the second half after going 1 of 10 in the first half.
“They just played better than us,” Tim Hardaway Jr. said. “You have to give credit where credit is due. They came out with sense of urgency in the second half. They scored 39 in the third and 33 in the fourth. It’s unacceptable.”
Making matters worse was the fact that the Lakers were playing the second night of a back-to-back to end a four-game road trip. They lost at the Pacers Tuesday.
2. The Hawks had a huge advantage inside and they failed to make the most of it. The Lakers were without starting center Timofey Mozgov. A 19-year-old rookie Ivica Zubac started in his place. He picked up three fouls in the first quarter and fourth early in the second. Dwight Howard finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He was 12 of 16 from the field. Howard even made his free throws, converting 7 of 10 (all in the first half) after making just 8 of 20 against the Kings Monday. The Hawks got caught up playing a more up-tempo pace than even they are used to and at times got away from getting the ball down low.
“That is their style of play,” Paul Millsap said. “That’s what they like to do. We bought into that. Maybe at times we could have slowed it down. We put up (116) points so offensively, we did good. Give them credit. They are young. They did a good job of out running us and reacting to what we threw at them.”
3. Lou Williams came back to haunt his former and hometown team. The guard finished with 18 points off the bench – with 16 coming in the fourth quarter. Williams made two 3-pointers, converted a three-point play and made three free throws after being fouled on a long-range attempt. That's a pretty solid sampling. The Lakers other young guards also contributed. D'Angelo Russell had 23 points and Jordan Clarkson had 16 points, including a stretch where he scored straight Laker baskets.
4. Hardaway nearly had a career-high as he scored 26 points, including five 3-pointers. He was three points off his best-ever total. After coming in when Kyle Korver picked up two first-quarter fouls, Hardaway was the Hawks' best offensive option for a significant stretch. He was 8 of 10 from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
“Doesn’t matter,” Hardaway said. “I’d rather have zero points and the win than 26 points and the loss.”
5. The Hawks failed to hold several double-digit leads. They led by as many as 12 points early in the third quarter. The Hawks jumped out with a 37-point first quarter and a 60-point first half. Both were season-highs for any quarter and any half.
The Hawks lead was gone with 10:31 to play and the Lakers never trailed again.
“The thing we just said in the locker room is give the Lakers a lot of credit for how well they played tonight,” Budenholzer said. “Their execution, their ball movement, their shot-making, their play-making, they were impressive. I think we can be a lot better. We need to be a lot better, 39 and 33 (points) in the third and fourth quarters, that’s hard to imagine. We can be so much sharper on both ends of the court. Different guys for different stretches for them really made plays.”
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