After a team win torched by the Heat Wednesday, the Lakers were back at it again in DTLA with a 130-114 win over the Hawks. They’ve now won four consecutive games, with four different starting lineups. Tonight marks their longest win streak of the season.
Despite domination from the tip, there was a myriad of questions surrounding the Lakers personnel for tonight’s game. Was LeBron James back at peak health? After tweaking his ankle, was Dennis Schröeder going to be able to play? And suffering from a sore left foot, would Russell Westbrook bring his energy off the bench?
While Bron, Russ, and Dennis prevailed, many Lakers did not: No Austin Reaves, no Lonnie Walker IV, no Troy Brown Jr., no Damian Jones, and of course no Anthony Davis.
Sterling Brown has entered the chat.
Sterling, who the Lakers signed to a 10-day contract this morning, entered the game for a few minutes to get an understanding of Lakers Basketball.
“It’s 10-day time, keep the tires on a few different prospects,” Head Coach Darvin Ham explained. “He’s the guy, his style of play, you can infuse that into any lineup right away,” he commented on his former Milwaukee Buck.
With a slew of injuries, the opportunity for Kendrick Nunn to play a bigger role in the rotation presented itself. Kendrick was out all last season due to injury and has seen low minutes this year. He said how being in his position “takes a lot of patience and consistency with the day-to-day, and to always be ready when your name is called.
Nunn “stays ready,” as Coach Ham put it. He does, he grabbed 23 points, a season-high, and three defensive rebounds tonight.
“He’s a scorer, he can put the ball in the basket. We all know that. He’s aggressive,” Russ commented on Nunn’s performance postgame.
Despite supply chain issues, the Lakers were able to penetrate the paint (and get some insurance points from the arc). In addition to their 66 points—to the Hawks’ 50—the Lake Show also secured 26 points off the fast break, Atlanta had 12.
The inside belonged to the Purple and Gold thanks in part to big man Thomas Bryant who had 19 points,13 rebounds (nine defensive), and a block— and Westbrook with 18 points, 11 defensive rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and a block.
As for the Lake Show action on the perimeter, Dennis went five-for-eight from three on his way to 21 points
Among a heavy “stay ready” crew, King James who celebrated his 38th birthday in Atlanta with a 47-piece over the Hawks a week ago, kept the celebrations a little tamer tonight while still leading his team in points with 25, in addition to 10 assists, and seven rebounds.
You don’t have to wait too long to see if the guys can turn this streak into five. The Lakers are back tomorrow to take on the Kings in Sacramento. Until then—stay ready.
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