Notebook: Lakers 86, Hawks 78

Posted Wednesday February 15, 2012 1:48AM

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Pau Gasol's hand went up, Kobe Bryant's shots finally went down and the Lakers came from behind in the third quarter Tuesday night to defeat the Hawks, 86-78, in their first game back at Staples Center following a season-long six-game road trip.

QUOTABLE: "It was good basketball from the right people, even if it wasn't a good shooting night for us."
-- Lakers coach Mike Brown

THE STAT: The Lakers come in last in the league in 3-point shooting at 29.1 percent, while Atlanta came in third best at 39.2. However, it was the home team that got the best of that statistic, shooting 8-for-17 from beyond the arc, compared to 7-for-27 for the Hawks.

TURNING POINT: The Hawks opened the second half with an 8-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 49-44. Brown called timeout and the Lakers responded with a 12-0 run. Gasol blocked three of his four shots during the run and Bryant scored eight of his season-low 10 points. After Lakers back-up guard Andrew Goudelock sank a 3-pointer with 1:53 left in the quarter to give the Lakers their biggest lead of the game, 59-50, the Hawks never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

HOT: The Hawks had few answers for the Lakers' big men, as Gasol and Bynum each collected double-doubles. Gasol had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Bynum finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds, helping the Lakers to a 44-28 advantage in the paint.

NOT: Outside of the third-quarter run when Bryant was 4-for-7 from the floor, he couldn't make a basket, shooting 1-for-11 the rest of the game and committing five turnovers. It was Bryant's lowest-scoring game since netting nine points in a 93-81 victory at Philadelphia on Dec. 17, 2010. Brown did manage to limit Bryant's minutes, something he pledged to do before the game. Bryant, who came in averaging 38.4 minutes, second most in the league, played 35. ... The Hawks, who were starting a five-game road trip, did not make a field goal the final 8:33 of the third quarter, when they were outscored, 15-2. ... The Hawks shot a season-low 34.4 percent from the floor and matched their season low with 14 assists.

QUOTABLE II: "We couldn't buy a shot. I don't know how many layups we missed. We just missed a ton of point-blank shots."
-- Hawks coach Larry Drew

GOOD MOVE: Lakers forward Metta World Peace, who told a reporter in New York during the recent road trip that Brown put too much emphasis on statistics, likely brought out the three biggest cheers of the night. He paused and looked for another option before sinking a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the first half, giving the Lakers a one-point lead. In the game's closing minutes, he drove the basket and threw down a slam dunk, then sank another 3-point basket 43 seconds later, finishing with 10 points, only his fifth game in double digits this season.

BAD MOVE: Bynum still has a tendency to get caught flat footed under the basket. He stood and watched after Josh Smith missed a driving layup late in the first half. Marvin Williams grabbed the rebound and laid it back in to cap an 11-0 run and give the Hawks a 41-38 lead.

NOTABLE: The Hawks fell to 5-10 this season against teams with a .500 record or better. ... Joe Johnson scored 15 points for the Hawks, becoming the 13th player in franchise history to score 10,000 points in his career. He also became the 10th active NBA player to have at least 10,000 career points and 2,500 assists with the same team. ... Atlanta has lost six straight at Staples Center.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Friday vs. Phoenix, Sunday @ Phoenix, Monday vs. Portland. For the Hawks, Wednesday @ Phoenix, Saturday @ Portland, Monday @ Chicago.