The Los Angeles Lakers slumped to a third straight defeat on Friday night, losing 134-132 in overtime to the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Despite the crushing nature of that defeat in Atlanta, guard Max Christie stated in his postgame press conference that the Lakers took a step in the right direction.
“I think if you’re looking at it from a process standpoint, this was a good bounceback for us,” Christie said. “I thought us as a cohesive unit was a lot better than Miami or previously on the road trip.
“I thought our communication was better, I think we did enough to win the game,” Christie added. “They hit a big shot at the end but overall I think from a process standpoint this is a good step in the right direction.”
Considering the Lakers lost 109-80 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday and 134-93 to the Miami Heat on Wednesday, I suppose you could say they took a step in the right direction against the Hawks. They played much better offensively than they did against the Timberwolves and better defensively than against the Heat, but it still wasn’t enough to get the win.
Some mistakes in the big moments and the lack of production from the bench cost the Lakers this game. They had the ball up 132-131 with 25.2 seconds remaining in overtime but a poor inbounds pass led to Anthony Davis being tied up and caused a jump ball situation.
Davis won it, but the Lakers weren’t able to secure the ball and the Hawks got possession. On the next play, miscommunication on defense led to Trae Young getting a wide-open three-pointer and he made no mistake, drilling what ended up being the game-winner.
ICE TRAE YOUNG IS HIS NAME pic.twitter.com/E97YQ8QcEo
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 7, 2024
As for the bench, the Hawks reserves outscored the Lakers reserves 65-17. Christie was really one from that second unit to make a positive impression, finishing with nine points (3-6 FG), two rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block.
Christie blocked Young’s potential game-winner at the end of regulation but wasn’t on the court to prevent him from hitting the game-winner in overtime. The 21-year-old had fouled out with over three minutes left in the extra period and could only watch on as his teammates completely messed up on defense on the play.
Would Christie have been able to deny Young again had he been on the court? Well, we’ll never know for sure. Christie also admitted that he was perhaps a bit too physical in this game, which was what led to him fouling out. He needs to tone things down a little bit moving forward.
As for what’s next for the 12-11 Lakers, they take on the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday at 9:30 PM ET. They go into that contest having lost seven of their last nine games and each of their last three at home but should be able to take down a Trail Blazers team that is 13th in the Western Conference with an 8-15 record. If the Lakers somehow lose again, some alarm bells might start ringing in Los Angeles.
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