LOS ANGELES — The Lakers remain perfect in the new year behind another 30-point performance from LeBron James, beating the Atlanta Hawks 119-102 in a high team effort on Friday night.
The Lakers snapped a seven-game losing streak against Eastern Conference opponents in the revenge win over the Hawks, who beat them 134-132 in overtime in Atlanta in their last matchup (Dec. 6).
The 17-point win pushes the Lakers record to 20-14 and 12-5 at Crypto.com Arena, as they sit fourth in the Western Conference.
Here are some takeaways from the Lakers win over Atlanta:
LeBron Passes MJ for Most 30-Point Games All-Time
With six minutes left and at 28 points on the night, James needed two points to pass Michael Jordan in all-time 30-point games, ironically going to the post and hitting his 30th point on a patent Jordan fadeaway from the baseline, passing him at 563 games.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 4, 2025
"I wear 23 because of him [Jordan]... to sit here and be in the conversation... you mention MJ; it's super-duper dope for me being a kid where I'm from," James said on passing Jordan.
James said that he incorporated Jordan's signature fadeaway into his game watching him growing up, mentioning that Jordan shot his fadeaways from his left shoulder and James prefers shooting it from his right shoulder.
James, 40, finished with 30 points (eight assists) on 65 percent shooting, 13-for-20, from the field. This is his second 30-point outing in back-to-back nights, scoring 38 points in L.A.’s 114-106 win over the Blazers on Thursday.
The NBA’s all-time scoring leader also moved to fourth all-time in regular season games played, passing Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki at 1,523 games. He trails Vince Carter (1,541), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560), and Robert Parish (1,611).
Anthony Davis’ Return
Davis’ return to the lineup consisted of what he’s done throughout most of the season: scoring in dominant spurts, controlling the glass, and anchoring the Lakers defense.
His impact started from tip-off, hitting the Lakers first bucket for 10 points and seven rebounds in the first quarter and 17 points and 11 rebounds at halftime.
Davis had multiple sequences disrupting the Hawks offense, protecting the glass, blocking three shots, and notching three steals. He finished with 18 points, 19 rebounds (four offensive) and four assists.
Davis is third in the NBA in double-doubles this year with his 24th of the season.
Bounce Back Performance for Dalton Knecht
After a strong start to his rookie season, scoring over 15 points in six games in Nov., the highest being a 37-point explosion, Dalton Knecht hit a bit of a rookie wall since, going seven-for-45 from 3-point range in the month of Dec.
In between that stretch, Knecht went five games without scratching from behind the arc, going 0-for-10 in that span.
Knecht would knock down his first three triples from 3-point range, all mostly contested, hitting nothing but net. He finished his 34th game of the season with 13 points on three-for-four from distance in 14 minutes off the bench.
Team Stuff
The Lakers, who started one-for-six from 3 at the end of the first quarter, bounced back in that category, hitting 13 threes for 43 percent behind the arc. They shot 49 percent total as a team from the floor, hitting 43 out of 88 shots.
L.A.'s 46 points in the paint, 28 assists, which contributed to 14 fast break points, and 17 offensive rebounds (56 total rebounds) kept them at bay despite 18 turnovers. They also shot 80 percent from the foul line, hitting 20-for-25.
Next Game
The Lakers next two games will be two tough tasks on the road, starting with the Houston Rockets on Sunday (4 p.m.) and the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday (4:30 p.m.).
The Rockets sit two games ahead of L.A. in the West with a 22-12 record. Houston is coming off a 23-point loss to the Celtics and has lost three of their last four games.
