Doncic, bench carry Lakers past Hawks 124-114 for sixth straight win

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks 124-114 on Monday night at State Farm Arena, stretching their winning streak to six games. Luka Doncic finished with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and five steals. Walker Kessler had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton came off the bench for 23 and 18. The Lakers were without Austin Reaves, who sat out with an illness a day after scoring 43 points in Detroit. Atlanta, which had won four in a row, got within two in the fourth quarter but never led after the opening period.

From 15-7 down to 54-34 up

The Hawks had the better start. Two free throws by Nickeil Alexander-Walker made it 15-7 with 8:22 left in the first quarter, their largest lead of the night. Then the game turned. A Doncic 3-pointer cut it to 19-16, his driving layup tied it at 22, and his two free throws with two minutes left in the period put Los Angeles ahead for good. Rookie Cameron Carr scored his first NBA points on a transition dunk, and the Lakers closed the quarter on a 24-7 run to lead 31-22.

The second unit kept pushing. Sexton repeatedly got into the lane and found Kessler above the rim, and Sexton's 3-pointer off a Doncic pass made it 54-34 with 5:56 left in the half, the biggest margin of the game. From 15-7 down, the Lakers had outscored Atlanta 47-19. Doncic had eight of his 10 assists by halftime.

Atlanta shot its way back late in the half, and an Aaron Wiggins 3-pointer sent the teams to the break at 68-57.

Hawks get within two

The third quarter belonged to the home team, 33-27. CJ McCollum, who led Atlanta with 21 points off the bench, and Wiggins, who made four of seven from deep, drove the comeback. Two Luguentz Dort free throws pulled the Hawks within 93-90 with 40 seconds left in the period before Doncic answered with a turnaround jumper for a 95-90 lead heading into the fourth.

Wiggins made it 100-98 with a 3-pointer at the 8:55 mark. That was as close as Atlanta came. Mamukelashvili and Adou Thiero scored at the rim on back-to-back possessions, and each time the Hawks got within a possession or two the Lakers had a reply: a Kessler layup off a Sexton feed, a Sexton 3-pointer for 113-106, two Mamukelashvili free throws.

Dyson Daniels, who drew the Doncic assignment for much of the night, cut it to 115-111 with 3:30 to play. The Lakers then put it away. Doncic scored at the rim, Ziaire Williams drove for a dunk seven seconds later, and Jake LaRavia finished a Doncic pass with another dunk. In just over a minute and a half, 115-111 had become 121-111. Matisse Thybulle's 3-pointer with 52.9 seconds left provided the final margin.

Turnovers and the bench made the difference

Each team grabbed 40 rebounds, and Atlanta made more 3-pointers (17 of 44 to the Lakers' 15 of 35). The gap opened elsewhere. The Hawks committed 20 turnovers that Los Angeles turned into 29 points; the Lakers' 16 turnovers cost them 14. Los Angeles had 16 steals, five by Doncic, and outscored Atlanta 52-42 in the paint. The Lakers shot 53% (45 of 85) to the Hawks' 45% (40 of 88).

The Lakers' bench scored 49. Mamukelashvili went 5 of 8 from 3-point range and added eight rebounds; Los Angeles outscored Atlanta by 20 with him on the floor, the best mark in the game. Sexton had six assists to go with his 18 points. Kessler made eight of 12 shots.

Doncic was off from distance, going 3 of 11 on 3-pointers, and had six turnovers, but he made all seven of his free throws and had a hand in two of the three baskets that sealed it. For Atlanta, Alexander-Walker scored 20 on 6-of-19 shooting, Onyeka Okongwu had 16 points and nine rebounds, Jalen Johnson was held to 15 on 6 of 14, and Daniels had 10 points, eight assists and four steals without missing any of his four field-goal attempts.

The Lakers improved to 10-2, including 5-1 on the road, and visit Milwaukee on Wednesday. The Hawks, now 7-5, play at Chicago on Friday.