EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Not a bad way to end a road trip.
It wasn’t easy for the Lakers, perhaps a little too close for some of their fans, but a victory eventually uncovered itself Monday against the Atlanta Hawks, 107-99.
The Lakers left Los Angeles on Jan. 20 and will return with a 5-2 mark on their season-long, seven-game trip. It took two big defensive plays down the stretch Monday and a key offensive rebound by none other than Alex Caruso to ice the victory.
The Lakers’ defense was solid all night, holding yet another opponent under 100. The final minute said it all: LeBron James blocked Clint Capela’s attempt down low with the Lakers up four and then Dennis Schröder forced Trae Young into a turnover on the Hawks’ next possession.
Anthony Davis scored 25 points and James added 21 as the Lakers (16-6) held their eighth opponent below 100 this season, an accomplishment worth mentioning in the modern-day NBA.
Not to be ignored, Caruso followed up James’ missed three-point shot by taking a long rebound with 21.7 seconds left and the Lakers up six. Game over.
Caruso scored eight points and played solid defense throughout the game, leading the Lakers yet again with a plus-13 in the plus-minus category.
The Lakers hate losing two games in a row and, yeah, that happened this trip. Their loss to Philadelphia on a last-second shot wasn’t a big deal. Tobias Harris made a big play and the 76ers had the Eastern Conference’s best record.
The loss to Detroit the next night was, well, regrettable. Davis didn’t play in that one and the Lakers lost by 15.
Then again, nobody’s perfect. A 5-2 record is more than acceptable on a road trip, particularly when wins over Boston and Milwaukee are part of it.