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Everything You Need to Know - Hawks vs. Lakers - March 31, 2010

Submitted by jnewberry on Wed, 2010-03-31 23:28

Atlanta 109, L.A. Lakers 92 | March 31, 2010 | Philips Arena
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Links: Recap | Box Score | Photos | Quotes | Playoff Tickets Are On-Sale Now - CLICK HERE
  • The Hawks used hot shooting and strong defense to knock off the Lakers 109-92 before a Philips Arena record crowd of 20,190.
  • With the victory Atlanta moves to 48-26 and has now improved their record for 5 consecutive seasons (the 9th team in NBA history to accomplish the feat).
  • The Hawks have now won 2 games in a row and a season-high 9 straight at home...Atlanta also improves to 21-9 (13-2 at home) against Western Conference opponents.
  • Combined with Boston's loss to Oklahoma City tonight, Atlanta moves into the 3rd seed in the East.
  • Atlanta led 29-25 after the first quarter and held a 45-42 advantage with under 3 minutes to play in the half, before finishing on a 10-3 run for a 55-45 lead at the break.
  • The Hawks would increase the lead to as many as 18 points in the 2nd half and cruised to the win.
  • Joe Johnson led the way with 25 points and 8 assists...Mo Evans put in 18 points off the bench and Jamal Crawford scored 14...Zaza Pachulia recorded his first double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
  • Mike Bibby and Josh Smith each scored 12 points, and Al Horford added 10...Smith also had 8 boards and 6 assists.
  • Led by Evans, Crawford and Pachulia the Hawks bench outscored their Lakers counterparts 48-22 (including a 24-3 advantage in the 1st half).
  • Kobe Bryant led LA with 28 points (8 in the 2nd half)...Pau Gasol added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
  • The Hawks are back in action on Friday at Cleveland (8pm) on ESPN and 790 The Zone.

Zaza Pachulia

MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
23:56
3-3
0-0
4-7

AST
REB
STL
PTS
2
10
2
10

Honorable Mentions:
Mo Evans - 18 pts on 7-of-9 shooting
Joe Johnson - 25 points, 8 assists

- Saying the Hawks used a "balanced attack" to post a dominant victory tonight just doesn't do justice to how well the team played from top to bottom. Seven players scored in double figures and the Hawks bench outscored L.A.'s 48-22.

- Al Horford's jump shot with 5:49 left in the third quarter (his first points of the game) gave the Hawks a 66-55 lead and the Lakers would never climb back within single digits.

- Mo Evans stepped up for the second week in a row with a big-time opponent in town. After sparking the Hawks rally against Orlando last weekend with 10 first half points, he burned L.A. with 18 points tonight. He didn't miss a shot until the fourth quarter, finishing 7-of-9 from the field.

- Zaza was also a monster off the bench. He recorded a double-double and threaded the needle with a couple nice passes that led to easy baskets.

- The bench players didn't do it all by themselves. Bibby shot well, Smoove was active on both ends, and Joe caught fire in the second half. After being hounded by Artest and Bryant in the first half (nine points) Johnson bombed away from behind the arc, hitting five 3-pointers for the fourth time this season (first time since Jan. 11th in Boston).

- Kobe Bryant looked to be on his way to a big game as he scored 20 in the first half, but the Hawks limited his touches in the second half with suffocating D. Limited shots usually means that Kobe is being double-teamed and finding teammates open, but Bryant only had two assists in the second half while scoring eight points.

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