The Lakers dropped their first game in 13 days to begin a five-game stint on the road
The Los Angeles Lakers came out flat-footed in another undermanned outing against the Atlanta Hawks, ultimately losing 122-102 on Nov. 8.
Luka Dončić, Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht and DeAndre Ayton all scored in double figures, tallying 22, 14, 13 and 11 points, respectively, but by the end of the third quarter, the game’s fate had already been sealed. This was evident when Lakers head coach JJ Redick took out his starters, who stayed on the sidelines for the entire fourth quarter.
Redick did not appear pleased in the postgame press conference, answering questions with disdain about his team’s performance and saying there was “nothing” to write home about within the first two minutes.
“Just not a lot to like tonight,” Redick said.
While still a dominant win for the Hawks, the final score does not fully indicate the lopsided nature of play for the majority of the game, as several Lakers players like Knecht caught fire during garbage time across the final 12 minutes of gameplay. Los Angeles lost by 22 points, but at one time, were down by as many as 30 points.
“[The Hawks] brought the requisite level of effort and urgency and physicality,” Redick said.
After a 7-2 start to the season, and five wins in a row, the Lakers were bound to hit a speed bump at one point or another in the early season, especially in a game with no Austin Reaves, no LeBron James and no Gabe Vincent. Unfortunately for the Lakers, it happened to come against an Atlanta team that was below .500 heading into play without their all-star guard Trae Young.
Sloppiness played a large factor in the Lakers’ loss, as the team tallied 20 across the contest and allowed 36 points off of those turnovers.
A few shots missed in the early going could have kept the Lakers in contention down the stretch, especially from Dončić, who shot 7-for-17 from the field and racked up five turnovers of his own.
With just their third loss on the young season, though, the Lakers remain in solid shape, as they still are one of the top teams in the Western Conference, sitting at fourth in the standings.
The Lakers will aim to bounce back with a win against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 10 before a matchup two days later against the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles will also hope they can get Reaves, who has been out with a groin injury since Nov. 3, back into the lineup.