The Lakers vs. Hawks matchup was already heating up, and the backstory made it even juicier. Remember 2018 draft night? The Hawks originally picked Luka Dončić, only to trade him minutes later to Dallas for Trae Young. Fast forward to now, Young is sidelined with a sprained right MCL, and LeBron James is out with sciatica. Could this be Luka’s chance to tilt the scales and take control against Atlanta? Not quite: the Lakers fell 122-102.

Los Angeles had been rolling into the matchup, riding a five-game winning streak that included a nail-biting 118-116 win over San Antonio. Atlanta, meanwhile, had shown cracks of late, blowing a 13-point lead on Friday and losing 109-97 to Toronto, hurting their NBA Cup hopes. Their offense and defense haven’t been consistent, ranking 17th and 16th in the league, leaving the Lakers with opportunities, but the Hawks made sure to capitalize at home.

How many points did Luka Dončić score?

Los Angeles Lakers

Atlanta Hawks

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Lakers vs. Hawks: Game summary and key moments

The Lakers’ five-game winning streak came to an abrupt end Saturday as they fell 122-102 on the road to the Atlanta Hawks. The game opened poorly for Los Angeles: a turnover immediately led to an easy layup for Zaccharie Risacher, foreshadowing the struggles to come. Atlanta jumped ahead early, and by the five-minute mark of the first quarter, the Hawks were already up by double digits. Hachimura scored five of LA’s first 12 points, but Atlanta’s Mouhamed Gueye was cooking with 11 points, helping the Hawks take control.

By the end of the first quarter, the Lakers managed to cut a 13-point deficit to eight, but the second quarter quickly got away from them. Atlanta extended their lead to 11 early in the period, and the Hawks poured on the offense, scoring 55 points with 4:28 left in the half. Luka Doncic drained a much-needed 3-pointer to keep LA within 12, finishing the half with all 22 of his points. Despite his effort and 11 assists, the Lakers trailed 68-54 at halftime, with the bench contributing only four points compared to Atlanta’s 26.

The third quarter was the breaking point. The Lakers briefly cut the lead to nine with early contributions from Ayton and LaRavia, but Atlanta went on a 7-0 run and hit a pair of 3-pointers to push the lead to 20 by the 7:20 mark. By the end of the quarter, the deficit ballooned to 26, prompting Luka to exit after just six minutes in the second half. Gueye and rookie Asa Newell shined in expanded roles, combining for dominant scoring and making Atlanta’s lead nearly untouchable.

The fourth quarter became largely garbage time. Atlanta continued hitting from deep, shooting 45% from three, while LA managed only 37%. Bronny James added nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, Jarred Vanderbilt pulled down 18 rebounds, and Dalton Knecht contributed 14 points, but the Lakers couldn’t chip away at the lead.

Gueye finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and a block, highlighting a coming-out performance. The Hawks improved to 5-5, while the Lakers fell to 7-3, proving that even a short-handed Atlanta squad could dominate when the Lakers struggled to defend and maintain offensive rhythm.