The Los Angeles Lakers lost 91-86 to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night at Staples Center.
Before Sunday's game started, the Hawks announced that DeMarre Carroll, Paul Milsap and Jeff Teague would all sit out to rest. While that would appear to be a boost for the Los Angeles Lakers, the home team quickly started the contest trailing 23-8 and essentially spotted the Hawks 15 points.
From there, the Lakers would rally. Not for the first time, the Lakers' bench brought them back into the game. This time, Ed Davis, Ryan Kelly and Jabari Brown fueled the comeback. Brown, who was playing in only his second ever NBA game, started 4/4 and bested his previous mark with nine points on the night.
Rookie Jordan Clarkson, who has been the primary positive in an overall negative season, started the game with an attacking mindset but failed to reap the rewards. After missing three of his first four shots and committing a couple careless turnovers in the first quarter, the point guard reentered the game in the second period with about seven and a half minutes to play in the half.
By that point, the Lakers' bench had cut the gap to only two points. Clarkson's aggression would help the point guard to a team-high eight points by halftime, and the Lakers trailed by three points at the intermission.
Worth noting, Kyle Korver suffered a broken nose and left the game in the second quarter, meaning Atlanta was without three of its four All-Stars for the entire second half. With Carroll also sitting, the Hawks technically were without four of their five starters the remainder of the way. Add in that Mike Scott was out due to an injured toe, and Atlanta was without five of its rotation players.
Even with all the aforementioned advantages provided to the Lakers, LA came out flat in the third quarter, which sounds like a broken record at this point in the season. Atlanta's only available All-Star and regular starter, Al Horford, played a major role in the vital third period. Horford would add 10 points in the quarter to take his tally to 20 points after three quarters.
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Midway through the fourth quarter, the Hawks would extend their lead to 16 points. However, the Lakers would rally and cut the lead to only two points with thirty seconds to play in the game, setting up an exciting finish.
With the crowd spurring the late Lakers' rally and the young Hawks clanking shots down the stretch, 21-year-old Dennis Schroder from Germany drove to the bucket and easily extended the Hawks' advantage to four points with only 13.9 seconds to play. From there, the Hawks hit free throws, and even a late Wesley Johnson three-pointer could not save the Lakers from defeat. Schroder would finish as top scorer with 24 points in the game, including a couple clutch free throws to ice the contest.
LA dropped to 17-48 on the season, which leaves LA firmly in fourth place in the NBA lottery chase. After the game, the Lakers caught a flight to the San Francisco Bay Area, where they face the NBA best Golden State Warriors on Monday night in Oakland.
Notes: Clarkson finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Carlos Boozer and Ryan Kelly finished with 13 points apiece. The aforementioned trio of Lakers were the only players to score in double figures for the home team.
