Atlanta 98, LA Lakers 95 | Feb. 6, 2008
| Philips Arena
The Basics
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- The Hawks fought and scrapped with one of the NBA's best clubs, and made clutch plays down the stretch in a 98-95 win over the Lakers on Wednesday, in front of a sellout crowd at Philips Arena.
- Atlanta outscored the Lakers, 30-19, in a huge fourth quarter, as Joe Johnson led the way with 28 points on the night ... Josh Smith had another strong all-around effort 17 pts, 9 rebs! 9 assts, 5 blks and 2 stls ... Tyronn Lue added 16 off the bench, while Al Hoford gathered a career-best 20 boards to go with 15 points (9th double-double, best among all rookies)... Marvin Williams scored 12.
- Lamar Odom (19) led the way for the Lakers, while Atlanta held Kobe Bryant, the NBA's second-leading scorer, to 11 points, 17 below his average.
- The Hawks have won three-in-a-row overall, and improved to 15-9 at home.
- Atlanta had the advantage from the field (.470-.435), foul line (.938-.625), and outrebounded one of the NBA's biggest front lines, 46-37.
- Atlanta wraps up the four-game homestand, hosting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Friday at Philips Arena (7:30 p.m., SportSouth, 790 The Zone).
Photo Of The Night
Al Horford had a gigantic game, finishing with a
career-best 20 rebounds
What
You Really Need To Know
You couldn't ask for much better, more entertaining hoops than what we saw
tonight at Philips Arena. Both teams played tremendously well, shooting the ball accurately and
making plays on both ends. It was beautiful, beautiful basketball, made all that
much sweeter by the delicious taste of victory. Make no mistake, the Lakers
played exceptionally well tonight. The Hawks just played better, particularly in
the fourth quarter, when they outscored the Lakers 30-19.
Fantasy MVP: Josh Smith/Al Horford
I just couldn't choose between them. After coming reasonably close to a
quadruple-double on Monday against Philly, Josh Smith was at it again tonight
with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 blocks and 2 steals. Meanwhile, all
Horford did was put up the first 20-rebound game by a Hawks player since Alan
Henderson in 2002, finishing the night with 15 points and 20 boards.
Momentum Changer
Last year when these two teams met at Philips Arena, Joe Johnson did everything
he could to defend Kobe Bryant, but Black Mamba just kept sticking contested
jumpers in his face as the Lakers won the game. Tonight JJ had his revenge,
making the defensive play of the game by poking the ball away from Bryant and
causing an over-and-back violation on the Lakers' superstar with the game on the
line and only seconds left to play. It was sweet poetic justice for the Hawks
All-Star, who closed the game out with four clutch free throws to seal the
victory.
What Went Right
- Tyronn Lue was absolutely nails for the Hawks tonight off the bench. His
perimeter scoring was huge, particularly in the fourth quarter, as the Hawks
rallied back from 8 down twice to nab the win.
- Josh Smith is hurtling towards superstardom right before our eyes. Using
his size and quickness advantage inside, Smoove is becoming nearly
unstoppable in the low post with his developing offensive arsenal. He was a
force on defense as well, with each of his 5 blocks energizing his team and
stopping the Lakers from building on a lead they held for most of the game.
- Joe Johnson won his battle with Kobe Bryant by a pretty decisive margin, if
you ask me. JJ finished the night with 28 points while at the same time holding
Bryant to 11 points on 4-16 shooting. I could watch these two go at it every
single night.
- I will just continued to harp on this until someone starts listening.
Al Horford is your rookie of the year. 15 points and 20(!) rebounds in this
game? Are you kidding me? The kid is only going to get better folks. His
offensive rebound late in the game drew larger applause from the crowd than
several dunks on the night, and his resulting FTs gave the Hawks their first
lead since early in the first quarter.
What Could Have Gone Better
- The Lakers hurt the Hawks from three-point range tonight. It's
definitely a pick your poison situation with a team that features up to
three players worthy of a double-team, and tonight the poison that hurt the
most was the long-range variety. Of course, Atlanta stood tall when it
mattered most, keeping the Lakers from getting a good look at the end when
LA needed a three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
- That's about it. This was a terrific game for the Hawks in all facets.
My only other complaint was the obnoxious Laker fan sitting directly behind
me - I hope he caught a glimpse of the scoreboard on his way out.
Quote of the Night
“Coach
just wanted us to be solid inside and try to establish the paint, and just
defend and rebound. That’s what I tried to stick to and that’s what we tried to
do as a team.”
-- Hawks rookie Al Horford, on his career-best performance on the glass
View From The Seats
That was the most exciting game of the year as the Hawks and Lakers
traded baskets for 3 and half quarters before the Hawks finally took the lead
for good in the last 2 minutes. Hopefully the Hawks can build on this momentum
for the rest of the season and continue their push for the playoff ending a
drought that’s been going on far too long.
- Kerry M.
What did you think of the game?
Send us an email and we'll pick the best one and post it here the morning
after the game.
