For the first time since the 1973-74 season, the Atlanta Hawks have swept their season series with the Los Angeles Lakers. They did just that by thrashing the home team 106-77 Friday night at the Staples Center.
With the exception of Al Horford, who had eight points, every one of the Hawks' starters finished with double-digit point totals. Additionally, Kris Humphries and Dennis Schroder combined to score 30 points off the bench in a game where every one of the team's eight bench players saw floor time.
With Kobe Bryant out with a shoulder injury, the Lakers put 11 players on the court, but with a starkly different outcome. Four of the Lakers' five starters scored eight points or less, while only two bench players managed to surpass that total.
Though Schroder led the Hawks with 16 points, it was Kyle Korver's 15-point effort that was the most effective. Korver made all four three-pointers he took, sank five shots in six field goal attempts and made the only free throw he took.
"For the most part, we played pretty focused," he said after the game. "We had a couple of little lapses there, but I thought our defense was great. When we get the rebound and get out and run, that's when we're at our best."
The Hawks have not been the team they were last season, when they reached 60 wins and won the Eastern Conference by a seven-game margin, but their big road win is a positive sign. While they played a struggling Lakers team, the Hawks held their opponents to a 34.1 shooting percentage while shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from beyond the arc themselves.
"I felt like our focus was there the whole game. Finishing fourth quarters out is something we're trying to get better at when we have leads," Hawks forward Paul Millsap said after the game. "We were able to get a big lead and it started with our defense. We got out and ran, got steals and got rebounds. That's our style of basketball."
The Staples Center crowd was notably frustrated, as Bryant's retirement tour has been the main attraction in a dismal season. Though Bryant was never going to suit up Friday night, fans began chanting his name as the clock wound down on the game. The Lakers were also missing Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams.
"You're missing your three guys that do the bulk of your scoring," Lakers coach Byron Scott said after the game. "So [I was] just searching tonight to try to find somebody that had consistency on that end the floor."
