Coming off their third consecutive home loss, the Hawks had something to prove Tuesday night.
“We’ve gone on a streak here of losing, wanted to turn things around and get a win,” rookie guard Trae Young said.
They did just that, snapping their slump at State Farm Arena with a 117-113 win over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The back-and-forth nature of the game kept the score close through the final minutes, but the Hawks (19-38) held their narrow lead and came away with the win over the Lakers (28-29).
Young picked up his 17th double-double with 22 points and 14 assists. He tied John Collins in points, with 22, but Collins recorded eight rebounds, too.
“Both of us scored the ball well tonight, but I think he did a really good job of facilitating, in a possession or string of possessions in the second quarter where he was just finding everybody,” Collins said of Young. “And I think more on the scoring, that’s going to help him a lot.”
James scored 28, with 16 assists and 11 rebounds, to lead the Lakers.
The beginning of the second half saw a spark from the Hawks after a slow second quarter. They closed their deficit through the first half of the third quarter, tying the game and taking the lead with 5:46 to play at 87-85.
“We definitely turned it up, I think,” Collins said. “We definitely saw the pattern they were trying to score with and how they were scoring. I think we made an emphasis to try and close it out and use that energy to win the game and build energy on both sides.”
A 3-pointer from Young with 1:24 left to play in the third quarter established another lead for the Hawks at 98-93. The lead increased to five points, 100-95, at the end of the quarter.
The Hawks scored just 17 points in the fourth quarter, while Los Angeles scored 18. The Hawks slowly built a nine-point lead in the final quarter. The Hawks shot 43.5 percent from the field, and 38.1 percent from 3-point range.
“Our ability to get stops and see (Rajon) Rondo get a travel (call) because of our effort to close out. We see (Kyle) Kuzma get a travel call because of our effort to close out,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. “We see all five guys run to the paint on every shot to limit their second-chance opportunity. So it’s good to see our team come out on the positive side defensively in the fourth quarter when we needed it most.”
Shots dropped in early for both teams, as the score stayed tight throughout the first quarter. Collins began the game by hitting three consecutive shots, including two 3-pointers. The Lakers eventually developed an early lead until the 3:43 mark when the Hawks’ Alex Len hit a 3-pointer for a 24-23 lead.
In the final minutes of the first quarter, the lead continued to change, but the Hawks pulled away with a 8-0 run to build a 10-point lead with a minute to play. The Hawks shot 48.3 percent, 14-for-29, in field goals, and 58.8 percent, 10-for-17, from 3-point range through the first quarter. The start looked promising for the Hawks, who held their lead to finish the quarter ahead 38-32.
One defense, the Hawks recorded two steals and 11 rebounds, which helped them create more opportunities to score.
The Hawks finished the game with eight steals and 47 rebounds, 41 of those defensive rebounds.
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