The bar for the Lakers to look competent on Friday night was set surprisingly low after their humiliating losses to Minnesota and Miami. Following those two blowouts, "don’t get embarrassed" seemed like the only reasonable expectation.
But even after those tough losses, the Lakers still had higher aspirations.
Despite being outplayed by a combined 70 points against the Timberwolves and Heat, the Lakers have demonstrated they are capable of being a competitive team—one that can share the ball, hit shots, and occasionally play credible defense.
"The consistency is probably the frustrating part," Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. "It's the consistency because the group has shown that they can do it. The guys have shown that they can do it. It's just the consistency for everything."
Against a red-hot Hawks team, the Lakers showed they could execute the necessary elements for a win. But they also made mistakes—mistakes that usually lead to a loss.
And while victory doesn't require perfection, it does require a little more than just doing enough to hang in there.
In the end, the Lakers’ 134-132 overtime loss was a mix of both positive play and costly errors that ultimately led to defeat.
With the Lakers up by one in overtime, Anthony Davis' lazy pass to LeBron James was intercepted by Dyson Daniels, who had a clear path to the basket. But James, as he has so many times before, sprinted back and blocked the shot just in time, knocking the ball slightly back in the Lakers’ favor.
However, the Lakers couldn’t capitalize on the momentum. They struggled to inbound the ball cleanly, and Atlanta forced a tie-up with Davis, gaining possession when the ball went out of bounds off James.
With the game on the line, the one player the Lakers couldn’t afford to leave open—Trae Young—got a clear look and sank a three-pointer. LeBron James' final attempt to turn the game around rattled out, and the Lakers suffered their seventh loss in the last nine games.
“I don’t know what it’s going to take to get us over the hump,” a visibly frustrated James said. “We just gotta not drown. Don’t drown, and we’ll be all right.”
In an effort to bring more physicality to the court, coach JJ Redick made a change, moving D’Angelo Russell to the bench and starting Gabe Vincent. Austin Reaves, who’s been sidelined with a back/pelvic injury, remained in Los Angeles for treatment, missing his fourth consecutive game.
“I think we can be better. Energy, effort, physicality—we took a huge step tonight, but I think we’re capable of a lot more,” Vincent said. “We’re still not whole. We can be better, for sure.”
Vincent delivered his best performance as a Laker, scoring 12 points and playing solid defense. However, a miscommunication between him and Anthony Davis on a switch at the top of the key left Young open for the game-winning shot, a heartbreaking mistake on a night when the Lakers had played mostly solid basketball.
“Messed up,” Redick said. “Left him open.”
LeBron James finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, hitting six of 11 from three. Anthony Davis contributed 38 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, bouncing back after a tough performance in Miami.
“If we continue to bring this mentality we had tonight,” Davis said, “we’ll be fine.”
The Lakers, who had been stuck in a rut for much of the past two weeks after heartbreaking losses to Orlando and Denver, finally found some rhythm early in the second half. They unleashed a 13-0 run on the Hawks, locking down defensively and converting on offense, with James even hitting a one-legged three-pointer, looking like he’d shaken off his shooting slump.
But just as quickly as they surged, the Lakers let Atlanta respond with three consecutive three-pointers, dashing any hopes of pulling away.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers’ execution and decision-making were solid—until they weren’t.
With the game winding down, the Lakers tried to run down the clock by inbounding the ball with it still ticking, waiting for the shot clock to start. Dyson Daniels hustled to intercept, and Davis was called for an illegal screen as he tried to protect the ball.
Daniels scored on the next possession to give the Hawks the lead. The Lakers managed to score twice late to tie the game, with Max Christie coming up with a critical block on Trae Young’s potential game-winner to send it into overtime.
On Friday, the Lakers didn’t get embarrassed—but they didn’t win, either. The bar for this road trip has undoubtedly been lowered, forcing the Lakers to find silver linings after their opponent made more big plays than they did.
“I told the group I appreciated their effort, their intent, their energy, and honestly, a lot of their execution,” Redick said. “We did enough to win a basketball game. Similar to Orlando, similar to Oklahoma City, I thought we did enough to win a basketball game. And I’m very appreciative of that."
“And you can build on that. You can adjust, scheme, and tweak things, especially late in games. That’s something we can build on.”
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