LOS ANGELES — LeBron James had 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points while tying the Lakers’ single-season record for 3-pointers in a 136-105 win over the Hawks from Atlanta on Monday. night.
Russell’s six 3-pointers against the Hawks gave him 183 this season, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s 180 in the 2005-06 season and tying Nick Van Exel’s franchise record set in 1994-95. Russell’s latest remarkable shooting display was highlighted by a stunning 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer, followed by two more early in the fourth to tie the record before the Lakers emptied their bench.
“It’s really cool, honestly,” Russell said. “Just to get credit for your game and what you work for and showcase that every night, and then to get credit for something like that, it’s really, really cool.”
Russell also had 10 assists, while Anthony Davis had 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Lakers ended a two-game skid with their 13th win in 20 games since losing at Atlanta in late January.
Davis left Saturday’s loss to Golden State early with a scratched cornea in his left eye, but the All-Star big man recovered from the resulting blurred vision quickly enough to play a full game against the Hawks . Davis said he chose not to wear glasses.
“I went through that phase in high school,” said a smiling Davis, who sometimes wore prescription glasses and goggles while growing up in Chicago before undergoing corrective eye surgery several years ago. “I got out of that phase. Obviously (I would have done it) if the doctors had told me I needed it, but I didn’t need it.
Los Angeles, which has not lost three games in a row since the beginning of January, also moved up to ninth place in the Western Conference standings with this victory and Golden State’s defeat against New York. While Russell had another prolific game and Davis looked very low, James produced another outstanding effort, giving him 65 points on 25 of 37 shooting over the last two games.
“Bron is Bron, and it’s that time of year,” Davis said. “He shoots the ball extremely well. He was in attack mode, finding guys. He locked down defensively.”
Jalen Johnson scored 25 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 17 for the Hawks, who lost four of five overall and three of four on their West Coast road trip.
“I thought we were ready to play, (but) there are two Hall of Fame players who weren’t selfish, and I thought they played very well,” the Atlanta coach said Quin Snyder. “It’s difficult to maintain a defensive effort against a team that plays the way they do offensively. When the ball doesn’t go in, it’s even more difficult. They made us pay for every mistake we made. »
Johnson felt obvious pain after rolling his ankle while landing with 6:47 left. Johnson, who returned just two games ago following a sprained ankle, was able to leave the field moments later under his own power. Snyder wasn’t sure how serious the new injury would be.
Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu had 11 points and four rebounds playing 19 minutes in his return from a 13-game injury absence due to a sprained left toe. Okongwu, a Los Angeles-area native who played at USC, hadn’t played since Feb. 12, shortly before the All-Star break.
Trae Young missed his 12th straight game following hand surgery. He scored 26 points with six 3-pointers as the Hawks put up 138 points in their win over the Lakers in January.
Los Angeles gradually pulled away from the Hawks all night, hitting 60 percent of its shots in the first half while moving the ball smoothly. Russell beat the buzzer with his fourth 3-pointer to increase the Lakers’ lead to 111-86 heading into the fourth.
FOLLOWING
Hawks: At Phoenix on Thursday.
Lakers: Host Philadelphia on Friday.
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