LOS ANGELES — After a miserable shooting performance the previous night, Lakers coach JJ Redick said the solution to his team’s woes was simple.
“Just have to keep shooting, I guess,” Redick said.
And so they did. LeBron James took 20 shots. Luka Doncic attempted 16 and Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton combined for nearly 20 more. The difference, though, between the previous game and Tuesday night’s was that the Lakers made baskets. A lot of baskets.
The Lakers shot an impressive 57.8% from the field and beat the Atlanta Hawks, 141-116, at Crypto.com Arena on the second night of a back-to-back set. The lopsided victory snapped a three-game losing streak.
“This was probably one of the best responses that we’ve had this year,” James said of the 24-hour turnaround. “Under the circumstances, the way we’ve been playing lately, to come out with this type of energy and effort on both sides of the floor was good, really good.”
The Lakers (24-14) came into the game tied with the Toronto Raptors for last in the league in 3-point shooting (34.2%) and 22nd in free-throw shooting (77.6%) but showed little resemblance to that team against the Hawks (20-22).
Redick said the switch started during the pregame meeting. He noticed that the coaches, staff and players seemed to be in a good place mentally, having put Monday’s 124-111 loss to the Sacramento Kings behind them.
“That was evident to start the game,” Redick said. “We went for the kill shot there to start the third and got the big lead and I mean you can just see the second of that back-to-back (when their energy ebbed.) Kind of ran out of gas and we were able to resettle ourselves and then ended up with 39 in the fourth quarter.
“So, it’s just a really complete game from our team.”
With James and Doncic leading the way, they shot 55.9% (19 for 34) from 3-point range after going 8 for 36 from behind the arc on Monday.
While playing the second game of his first back-to-back appearances during his unprecedented 23rd NBA season, James fell just shy of his first triple-double since last Feb. 1 against the Knicks in New York – a night better remembered for the Lakers’ seismic trade for Doncic later that night.
James finished with a game-high 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting, nine rebounds and 10 assists. It was his second 31-point game over the past two weeks.
Doncic, who had his left quadriceps wrapped during the third quarter of Monday’s game, didn’t show any signs of discomfort a night later. Doncic had 27 points with five 3-pointers, five rebounds and 12 assists in 33 minutes.
Both James, who has been dealing with sciatica pain and Doncic were listed as questionable before the game. James said he wanted to see how his 41-year-old body felt in the morning before deciding whether he could play.
“We didn’t expect him (James) to be able to play,” Redick said. “He just said, ‘I’m going to try. I’m going to try to do everything I can –do my normal routine if I’m able to go.’ And same thing with Luka.
“So, both those guys, I thought just completely led the group tonight and it was evident – 22 assists between them. Obviously, they made some shots too, but I just thought they did a great job of leading the group.”
Doncic said that even though his quad was tender, he wanted to play.
“Obviously I wasn’t feeling 100%, but in my head I always want to play,” he said.
Ayton posted 17 points and 18 rebounds, while LaRavia also had 17 points and Marcus Smart added 16 points for the Lakers, who had 36 assists on their 48 field goals and shot 26 for 30 from the free-throw line.
Forward Rui Hachimura was back in the lineup but he wasn’t on the court long enough to make a significant impact. He scored seven points on 3-of-7 shooting. The 6-foot-8 forward was on a minutes restriction – limited to 18 – Tuesday after missing seven games because of a calf injury. He is expected to play a bigger role when he returns to form.
“He’s our best catch-and-shoot guy, so I’m looking forward to it,” Redick said.
The Lakers came out shooting and led 81-60 by halftime, making nearly 62% of their shots during their highest-scoring half of the season.
With the score tied at 42-42, the Lakers went on a 21-2 run to take a commanding 51-44 lead on a 3-pointer by LaRavia with 7:19 left in the half and kept going as the Hawks struggled to find the basket. The Lakers built a 63-44 lead before Atlanta ended their run with a pair of free throws by Jalen Johnson with 5:02 left.
Even the Lakers’ defense, which ranked 26th in the league coming into the game, showed signs of life. They limited the Hawks to 45% shooting from the field and 28.3% from 3-point range.
The Lakers’ lead grew to 32 points following a 12-1 run after halftime, but their defense lapsed briefly late in the third quarter and Atlanta gradually trimmed its deficit to 11 points (108-97) in the fourth before the Lakers pushed the margin back to a comfortable 20 with 6:15 left and pulled away for good.
“We still can do a much better job of closing out and giving up the right type of shots. But you know that it’s something like last year, when we had the No. 1 defense, teams actually shot better than expected,” Redick said. “And we’ve done a decent job this year protecting the paint or at least trying to.
“It’s just when teams do get to the paint, they’re also shooting astronomically high at the rim, too. So, we’re giving up both.”
After a stellar shooting night on Monday, Jaxson Hayes was ruled out against the Hawks because of a lingering hamstring injury. Redick said his leg tightened up in the fourth quarter against the Kings.
The Hawks had won three straight games and five of their past seven but extending that streak proved difficult without four of their core players.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 26 points and CJ McCollum had 25 for the Hawks, who had won on the first two stops of their West Coast road trip. Corey Kispert scored 19 points while thriving alongside McCollum in both players’ second game with Atlanta since being traded by Washington for Trae Young.
Neither Zaccharie Risacher (knee) nor Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles), two impact players for the Hawks, saw action. Luke Kennard (neck) and Asa Newell (quad) also were out for the Hawks.