Last week was rough for the Los Angeles Lakers as they dropped pivotal games against the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. The Lakers have now lost five games against teams they’re directly competing for playoff positioning since returning from the All-Star break which has made their climb up the Western Conference standings much more difficult.
Fortunately for Los Angeles, they got to come back home to Crypto.com Arena to take on a struggling Atlanta Hawks team. Like the Lakers, the Hawks are essentially locked into a Play-In Tournament spot but came into the night shorthanded as they were without Trae Young.
On the flip side, Los Angeles also got the benefit of Anthony Davis’ return after he was forced to exit early against Golden State. With him back in the fold, the Lakers cruised to a 136-105 win and moved back up to ninth in the standings after the Warriors lost to the New York Knicks.
D’Angelo Russell has been on a heater since the calendar turned to 2024 and he was once again the spark plug that blew open the game for the Lakers. Russell started the game out facilitating for his teammates before he decided to look for his own in the third quarter.
The veteran guard hit another flurry of 3-pointers in the period and the Hawks couldn’t bounce back. Russell led the Lakers in scoring with 27 points, but more importantly he tied Nick Van Exel’s franchise record for made 3-pointers in a regular season with 183. Russell hit six 3s against Atlanta and also dished out 10 assists.
Davis returned to the floor and didn’t look to be suffering any lingering effects from his eye injury. He was aggressive early on, looking to score each time he got the ball which set the tone for the rest of the night.
Davis stuffed the stat sheet against the undermanned Hawks, recording 22 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block.
Meanwhile, LeBron James continues to put together the best season for a 39-year-old as he simply had his way against the porous Atlanta defense. James had an extra bounce in his step on both ends of the floor and it showed with how much he tried to get to the basket.
James finished second on the team in scoring with 25 points and narrowly missed on a triple-double as he had seven rebounds and 10 assists in just 29 minutes of action.
What’s next for Lakers
The Lakers will get another few days off before they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. They’ll then take on the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
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