Lakers fall to Hawks in OT despite big nights from LeBron James, Anthony Davis

07.12.2024 06:56

DailyNews.com

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young celebrates after he made a go-ahead 3-point shot with 7.4 seconds left in overtime in their game against the Lakers on Friday night in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

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ATLANTA — The Lakers’ response to back-to-back embarrassing performances was what it needed to be on Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks.

Their offensive intentionality was at a higher level. Their defense, although they went through their struggles, was significantly more dialed in compared to their 41-point loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

And their star players, who took accountability for the team’s recent skid, stepped up for one of their better combined performances of the season – but it wasn’t enough, with the Lakers dropping their third straight game to end their four-game trip.

“They made a couple more plays than we made,” LeBron James said.

James (39 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals) and Anthony Davis (38 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks) combined for 77 points, but the Lakers (12-11) lost for the seventh time in their past nine games, 134-132, after Trae Young (31 points, 20 assists) hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left in overtime.

James, who shot 14 for 25 from the field (6 for 11 from 3-point range) while recording his seventh triple-double of the season, had a chance to win it for the Lakers, but his long 3-point attempt clanked off the rim.

In a game that featured 32 lead changes and 17 ties, the Lakers made plenty of the kinds of plays it takes to win. They had leads late in regulation and overtime, but they made a handful of critical mistakes that proved costly against a surging Hawks team that won its sixth consecutive game.

“I don’t know if it was communication or whatnot,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “But can’t mess up the reds [defensive switching] with Trae Young.”

There was a concerted effort to get Davis more involved offensively, especially early after he combined for 20 points on 7-of-28 shooting in the losses to the Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

Davis finished 15 for 27 from the field, just the second time he’s recorded at least 20 field goal attempts over the past eight games. He had more first-half points (22) than he totaled in the previous two games combined.

“It’s good to find the shot and the rhythm again,” Davis said, “but it sucks it’s when you lose.”

And in the game’s most precarious moment, the Lakers went to the James-Davis pick-and-roll, with James assisting Davis on a 19-foot stepback jumper to give the Lakers a 132-129 lead with 40 seconds left in OT.

On the Lakers’ ensuing possession after Jalen Johnson made a pair of free throws to cut the Hawks’ deficit to 132-131, Davis’ errant pass to James was picked off by Dyson Daniels, who pushed the ball up the floor looking for a dunk before James came from behind with a chase-down block to maintain the Lakers’ one-point lead and give them possession as the ball touched Daniels’ hand last.

The Lakers, though, couldn’t inbound the ball cleanly, and Atlanta forced a tie-up with Davis with 19.6 seconds left and gained possession after the jump ball went out of bounds off James. Then the player most likely to hurt them from outside did so when Gabe Vincent and Davis miscommunicated on a switch at the top of the key leading to Young’s open game-winner.

The 39-year-old James carried a significant scoring burden in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of the Lakers’ 22 points in the period.

He hit an 18-footer to put the Lakers ahead 115-111 with just under two minutes remaining in regulation. The Hawks responded with a corner 3-pointer from Daniels, cutting their deficit back to one.

Trying to inbound the ball while also taking time off the game clock, Davis slow-rolled his inbounds pass to Vincent, but drew an offensive foul when Daniels ran into the backcourt looking to steal the ball.

Daniels hit a floater on the Hawks’ ensuing possession to put Atlanta ahead 116-115 with 1:31 remaining before Vincent connected with Davis on an alley-oop to put the Lakers back up by one, 117-116.

De’Andre Hunter hit a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a brief two-point lead before James made a layup to tie the score at 119 with 12.9 seconds left.

The Hawks had the final possession of regulation, but Max Christie blocked Young’s 3-point attempt and James collided with Davis going for the loose ball, sending the 39-year-old to a knee in pain. After hobbling to the bench, James was back on the court for overtime.

Moments after hitting a 3-pointer to trim the Lakers’ deficit to 123-122 in the extra period, Christie fouled out.

Gabe Vincent, who was reinserted back into the starting lineup, hit a pull-up 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 130-127 lead with 1:44 left in overtime.

A sign of the Lakers’ increased defensive effort: they drew four charges on Friday night after recording nine total in their first 22 games: a pair from Vincent, one from James and one from Russell.

But they didn’t get enough stops down the stretch for it to matter in the standings.

“I told the group that I appreciated their effort, their intent, their energy,” Redick said. “And truthfully, a lot of their execution. We did enough to win a basketball game. And I’m very appreciative of that. And you can build on that. You can adjust and scheme and maybe tweak some things, late game. That stuff you can build on.”

The Lakers’ bench was outscored 65-17 by the Atlanta reserves, and James pointed to the absence of Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes as one of the ways their depth has been limited.

“Mismatching with lineups, we’re trying to figure out ways, obviously,” James said. “It’s very challenging. We don’t have much room for error. … It’s big, big, big, big pieces.”

“I don’t know as far as what will get us over the hump. We just gotta just not drown. Don’t drown and we’ll be all right.”

Davis said the Lakers have to work with what they have until players return to health.

“There’s no cavalry,” Davis said. “No one feels sorry for us. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. Just got to continue to put our head down and grind and work. Try to get back in the win column on Sunday against Portland. … No game’s going to be easy for us, so we got to go take the win.”

Lakers fall to Hawks in OT despite big nights from LeBron James, Anthony Davis

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