|
 Schroder scored a career-high 24 points and handed out 10 assists,
guiding the Hawks to a 91-86 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at
Staples Center.
"This shows me that Coach trusts me a lot," said Schroder, who tied
his career best in assists. "He keeps talking to me every day. I
think that's because of my improvement. He trusts me, and I love it.
He told me before the beginning of the game, 'This is your game and
just play your game. Don't change anything.'"
Budenholzer adjusted his starting lineup, resting point guard Jeff
Teague and forwards Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll and inserting
Schroder and forwards Kent Bazemore and Pero Antic. Shooting guard
Kyle Korver started but sustained a broken nose in the second
quarter and did not return.
Still, the Hawks (52-14) had enough to contain the Lakers (17-48).
"This was a good win for us," said center Al Horford, who scored 21
points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field and also had five steals.
"I feel like this team really tested us, and our guys on the bench
worked hard all year and waited for opportunities. They came out and
showed it tonight."
Reserve guard Shelvin Mack contributed 18 points for Atlanta, which
earned its ninth win in 11 games.
It took 42 minutes for reserve forward Ryan Kelly to become the
first Los Angeles player to reach double figures. Kelly and forward
Carlos Boozer each finished with 13 points to lead the Lakers, who
fell for the seventh time in eight games.
Atlanta was in front by 16 points in the fourth quarter before the
Lakers rallied. A 13-1 surge pulled Los Angeles within 84-80 after
the second of back-to-back buckets by Boozer with 1:03 remaining in
the game.
After Horford made one of two foul shots, forward Wesley Johnson hit
a 3-pointer to slice the Lakers' deficit to 85-83 with 30.1 seconds
remaining.
Schroder scored on a drive for a four-point advantage with 13.9
seconds left, and that turned out to be the difference.
"We weren't great executing down the stretch, but I thought Dennis
had the big basket late," Budenholzer said. "Dennis and Al in the
two-man game, the pick-and-roll game, was good all night."
Two free throws by Bazemore, a former Laker who had 13 points and
nine rebounds, made it 89-83 with nine seconds remaining.
Kelly's 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds left cut the gap to 89-86, but
two foul shots by Schroder with 5.3 seconds remaining sealed the
decision.
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"We did a terrible job of moving the ball and setting screens,"
Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "That has been something we've had
trouble doing all season long ... setting screens. We just don't do
a good job of that for some reason."
The Lakers trailed by as much as 15 late in the first quarter before
making a 17-2 run to tie the score at 25 on a jumper by guard Jabari
Brown midway through the second quarter.
The Hawks went up 37-30 after a basket by Horford, but the Lakers
closed the margin to 41-38 after a runner by point guard Jordan
Clarkson ended the half.
By the end of the third quarter, the Hawks increased the margin to
68-58. Eight turnovers to three for the Hawks hurt the Lakers in the
third. Overall, Los Angeles committed 22 turnovers to 13 for
Atlanta.
Atlanta's versatility dictated the outcome, Los Angeles forward Ed
Davis said.
"They don't care who scores, they have good balance," said Davis,
who finished with 13 rebounds and seven points. "At one point, they
had (four) guys in double figures, so they just don't care who gets
the glory. ... They're one of the better teams in the NBA for a
reason."
NOTES: Lakers G Nick Young will have a CT scan on his troublesome
left knee Monday. Young missed his 10th game due to the injury. He
was averaging 13.4 points per game before getting hurt. "It's slow
(to heal). They don't understand why," said coach Byron Scott,
referring to the club's medical staff. ... Atlanta signed F Austin
Daye to a 10-day contract, though he didn't play Sunday. Daye, who
played 25 games with the San Antonio Spurs earlier this season,
averaged 16 points and seven rebounds for the Erie BayHawks of the
NBA Development League. ... The Lakers defeated the Hawks 114-109 on
Nov. 18 at Atlanta. ... The Hawks resume their six-game road swing
Monday at the Sacramento Kings. ... The Lakers visit the Golden
State Warriors on Monday.
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