One streak ended for Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, but a more important one continued. Doncic returned from a one-game absence due to lower back tightness to lead Los Angeles to a 124-114 win over the Atlanta Hawks, extending the Lakers’ winning streak to six games.
Doncic finished with 32 points and 10 assists and tied for second on the team with eight rebounds. His run of scoring 40-plus points ended at four games.
“Luka again, you know, [was] just orchestrating,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I thought he was really just a willing passer. He ended up with 10 assists … but could have had 15, 16 assists.”
Depth Fills the Gap
His teammates did not convert every pass Doncic delivered, but the Lakers more than made up for the absences of Austin Reaves (illness) and Quentin Grimes (sprained finger on his right hand). The two had combined for 55 points and eight assists Sunday in a win over the Detroit Pistons.
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored a season-high 23 points off the bench and grabbed eight rebounds. Collin Sexton, tasked with handling the ball more with Reaves unavailable, finished with 18 points and six assists. Lakers center Walker Kessler recorded his third straight double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Ziaire Williams added 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field.
Earlier in the day, the Western Conference named Doncic its player of the week after he averaged 45 points with a 4-0 record.
Redick on Doncic’s Mindset
Doncic returned to the building where he scored a career-high 73 points in a win over the Hawks on Jan. 26, 2024. Before the game, Redick was asked how much scoring motivates the 27-year-old guard.
“To me, he is first a competitor. You see it in everything he does throughout his daily life and his existence, he just loves competing, and so I think when he gets on a basketball court, that’s — the first priority is to try to win,” Redick said. “And he does a great job of figuring out on a night-to-night basis what levers to pull. … It’s not just hunt, hunt, hunt, hunt [to score]. He reads the game.”
In the postgame locker room at State Farm Arena, Doncic focused on something other than his scoring. He talked to his teammates about the five steals and two blocks he recorded against the Hawks.
Defense Drives the Win
Los Angeles (10-2) entered the game ranked No. 21 in the league in defensive efficiency. The Lakers held Atlanta, which had won four straight, to 114 points, a tick below the Hawks’ average of 118.6. They also forced 19 turnovers, well above Atlanta’s average of 14.5 a game.
“I think we can be way better than 21st,” Doncic said. “I think we have the potential for that.”