Los Angeles— Quite fact, the Atlanta Hawks were exactly what the Los Angeles Lakers needed.
Following a potentially demoralising loss to Golden State two days prior, the Lakers found themselves in 10th place in the Western Conference, which was not where they — or anybody else — expected them to be with four weeks remaining in the regular season.
However, the Hawks were an easy match for the Lakers in Monday's 136-105 victory at Crypto.com Arena. Anthony Davis effectively recovered from an eye ailment, and D'Angelo Russell extended his streak of smooth shooting with a record-tying performance.
Russell finished with 27 points and six three-pointers, tying Nick Van Exel for the most in a single season by a Lakers player. Van Exel had 183 in the 1994-95 season, which remained unmatched until Monday.
"That's another beautiful feeling, knowing what this organisation means to me," Russell told Spectrum SportsNet.
Russell also retains the Brooklyn Nets' record for most three-pointers made in a season. He drilled 234 in 2018-19, his only All-Star season.
Russell's shooting ability throughout the season was praised by Davis as "phenomenal."
"Clearly, he can score at will. "He can get hot at any time," Davis explained. "He's able to get going and fill out the stat sheet. It's a major deal for him and for the entire club."
According to Lakers coach Darvin Ham, Russell had lots of flexibility to shoot as much as he wanted because he was "hands down the best shooter on our team."
Ham then joked about giving Russell more than a green light to shoot.
"I want him to be as aggressive from three-point range as possible. He has a green room. Not a green light. "A green room."
Davis recorded 22 points and 15 rebounds despite missing the Golden State game two days prior due to an eye poke.
"I couldn't see." The corneal abrasion was exactly in the centre of my eye. It wasn't just off to the side. So any time I looked, it was just hazy," Davis explained. "It seemed like sand was in my eyes. "It was simply better closed."
Davis said the swelling began to subside late Saturday night, and he stayed in darkness for as long as he could before seeing an eye specialist Sunday morning. Davis stated that he would not wear goggles during games because he had "been through that phase in high school."
He didn't need goggles Monday, making 10 of 14 shots against Atlanta and sat out the fourth quarter due to the Lakers' large lead.
The Lakers' injury news was not all positive.
Backup big man Christian Wood was slated to have arthroscopic surgery on his injured left knee on Tuesday and is anticipated to miss the remainder of the regular season. Wood had not played since February 14 due to knee swelling, and his absence left the Lakers with a weak frontcourt, with only Davis and Jaxson Hayes capable of playing centre for extended stretches.
Everything seemed fine on Monday. As has been the case throughout the season, the Lakers moved the ball quickly and efficiently. The Lakers recorded 39 assists on 52 field goals, which is an outstanding total against any team at any time. Even the hapless Hawks.
"The ball movement, to end up with 39 assists, is huge," he remarked.
LeBron James had 10 of those assists to go along with his 25 points.
Jalen Johnson scored 25 points, and the Hawks (30-38) fell to 6-6 while All-Star guard Trae Young was out due to a finger injury.
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