With the Lakers’ top three scorers all out due to injuries, a hobbled rotation couldn’t come close to matching their leaders’ usual production.
Kobe Bryant (shoulder), Jordan Clarkson (knee) and Lou Williams (hamstring) were all unavailable, which showed in a 106-77 loss to Atlanta.
“You’re missing your three guys that do the bulk of your scoring,” head coach Byron Scott said of the trio that averages a combined 47.7 points. “(We were) just searching tonight to try to find somebody to have some consistency on that end of the floor.”
D’Angelo Russell tried to pump up Los Angeles’ depleted guard rotation, but he had one of the roughest outings of his rookie campaign. Russell — who had averaged 26.8 points on 52.9 percent shooting in his last four games — finished the night just 3-of-16 from the field with five turnovers.
“Just one of those nights for me,” said Russell, who finished with seven points and five assists. “Same shots, same flow. Just one of those nights.”
The Hawks (34-28) relied on their elite defense to take advantage of the Lakers’ misfortune. The purple and gold were held to a 29-of-85 (34.1 percent) clip, including just 5-of-27 from 3-point range.
The Lakers’ one area of success was on the offensive glass, where they used 17 extra possessions to outscore Atlanta on second-chance points, 17-0.
But the Hawks kept humming on offense as well, handing out 31 assists on 37 baskets, while scoring 27 fast-break points and holding L.A. to just two.
The Lakers lost control of the game just before halftime. Trailing by five with three minutes left, L.A. allowed Atlanta to head into the locker room on a 15-2 run for a 54-36 lead.
From there, the Hawks’ lead expanded to as many as 31 points, as they won a series against the Lakers for the first time since the 1978-79 season.
“We just struggled to put the ball in the hole,” said Julius Randle, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. “I think we got some good looks, honestly, but it got to a point where we were really stagnant. We had to force shots up.”
Notes Nick Young and Anthony Brown started for Clarkson and Bryant, respectively. They combined for just 12 points on 3-of-15 shooting. Young was in the opening lineup for the first time in two years. … Dennis Schroder (16 points) and Kris Humphries (14 points, eight rebounds) led Atlanta off the bench. … A crowd of 18,997 sold out Staples Center.
Don’t hurt ’em Larry!!
A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Mar 4, 2016 at 8:24pm PST
