The Los Angeles Lakers limped into their matchup against the Atlanta Hawks as they dropped a dispiriting game against the Sacramento Kings the night prior.
The Lakers lost their third straight game to the Kings, making the contest against the Hawks a near must-win. It sounds dramatic, but Los Angeles desperately needed some positive momentum after starting the 2026 calendar year off strong.
The Hawks recently shook up their roster by trading away superstar guard Trae Young in exchange for C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert, a move that gave them more financial flexibility moving forward but arguably made them worse in the interim. The Lakers took advantage by getting into an offensive rhythm from the jump, particularly from outside as they finally saw their 3-point looks go down.
Los Angeles looked like they were going to cruise to an easy victory when they went up by as many as 32 points, but Atlanta stormed back to make it manageable in the fourth quarter. Fortunately, the Lakers were able to respond with another quick offensive spurt to quell the Hawks’ run. Los Angeles eventually won 141-116, snapping their three-game skid.
LeBron James has looked more and more like himself and against the Hawks, he had a vintage performance that made it seem like he could play forever. Atlanta’s porous defense had no answer for James who had an extra pep in his step despite playing in his first back-to-back of the 2025-26 season.
James ran out in transition or blew past defenders to get to the rim, often times finishing unscathed. He also had his jumper going, knocking down clutch shots to make sure the Hawks didn’t encroach on their lead too much.
LeBron had his best game of the season to date, recording a near triple-double of 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to go along with one steal and one block in 33 minutes.
Deandre Ayton had been scuffling recently before getting back on track against an undersized Hawks team. Ayton was a machine on the glass, grabbing rebounds at a high rate and finishing his looks on the offensive end.
Ayton bounced back with an impressive double-double of 17 points and 18 rebounds.
Luka Doncic was the catalyst for the Lakers’ first-half lead, burying deep 3-point attempts to demoralize Atlanta’s defense. Doncic finished with 27 points, 12 assists and five rebounds.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will host the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday before going back on the road to play the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.
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