Los Angeles: For nine games, the Los Angeles Lakers just couldn’t figure out how to get their defence back on the right track.
Against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night, things finally felt familiar on that end.
The Lakers swiped 13 steals and scored 26 points off turnovers en route to a 132-113 victory that snapped their nine-game losing streak.
“It was good to kind of see the guys get back to that mode where defence anchors what we do offensively instead of the other way around,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said.
Brandon Ingram had 20 points and seven assists, while Lonzo Ball finished with 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Julius Randle had 15 points and nine rebounds in his sixth straight start.
Nine Lakers recorded at least one steal. Brook Lopez had four on his own.
“Everybody was on a string together,” Ingram said. “We trusted each other, whether it was individual defence, whether it was help-side defence, transition defence. I think we all trusted each other.”
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 27 points on 10-of-23 shooting. Kent Bazemore and John Collins added 15 points apiece.
Los Angeles led by as many as 26 points — its biggest margin this season — and enjoyed a strong shooting night. The Lakers made 55.8 per cent of their field goals, and shot 44.4 per cent from 3-point range.
Even free throws went in for the Lakers, who came into Sunday as the worst team in the league in that category. Los Angeles made 20 of 25.
The Hawks, on the other hand, shot just 43.6 per cent from the field.
Los Angeles went on a 16-3 run in the opening minutes of the second quarter that culminated in a transition 3-pointer by Ball and a basket by Larry Nance Jr. off a pass from Josh Hart. The lead quickly ballooned to 20 after another 3 by Ball and a layup by Kyle Kuzma.
In all, the Lakers outscored the Hawks 37-21 in the second frame.
“They were out and running on the fast break, making 3s, making layups,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think it started with good defence on their part. We weren’t executing offensively.”
The Hawks closed within 13 with 10:09 remaining in the fourth quarter, but a long pass from Kuzma led to a one-handed dunk by Ball, giving the Lakers a 17-point lead. Hart’s 3-pointer with 5:33 left in the game gave Los Angeles its biggest lead.
The Hawks started the game on a 10-2 run, but the Lakers recovered. Kuzma’s basket on a strong drive gave Los Angeles a 29-27 lead just before the first-quarter buzzer.
Results
Miami 103, Utah 102
New York 100, Dallas 96
Phoenix 114, Oklahoma City 100
Portland 111, San Antonio 110
LA Lakers 132, Atlanta 113
—AP