ATLANTA – Luka Dončić returned to the lineup with 32 points and 10 assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers got big nights from Walker Kessler and Sandro Mamukelashvili to beat the Atlanta Hawks 124-114 Monday at State Farm Arena.
The Lakers won their sixth consecutive game and improved to 10-2. They did it on the second night of a back-to-back and without Austin Reaves, who was out because of an illness one day after scoring 43 points in a win over the Detroit Pistons.
Dončić, back after missing Sunday’s game with lower-back tightness, finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists, five steals and two blocks in 39 minutes. He shot 11-for-22 from the field and went 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.
It was not a one-man win. Kessler had 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in his return home to Atlanta, while Mamukelashvili scored 23 points off the bench and made five of his eight attempts from beyond the arc. Collin Sexton added 18 points and six assists.
Lakers turn an early deficit into a halftime cushion
Atlanta opened the game with energy and held a 19-11 lead midway through the first quarter. The Lakers answered with a 20-3 run to close the period and carried a 31-22 advantage into the second.
Los Angeles kept pushing. Kessler scored inside, Sexton hit consecutive threes and Dončić controlled the tempo as the Lakers stretched the lead to 60-40. Atlanta cut into the margin before halftime, but the Lakers still took a 68-57 lead into the break.
The Hawks made their move in the third quarter. They won the period 33-27, pressured the ball and trimmed the Lakers’ lead to 95-90 heading into the fourth.
Los Angeles answers Atlanta’s fourth-quarter push
Atlanta pulled within three at 106-103 with 7:39 remaining, but the Lakers never surrendered the lead.
Sexton answered with a driving basket. Dončić later scored at the rim, and Sexton knocked down a three to push the margin back to seven. With Atlanta still hanging around, Dončić converted another drive before Ziaire Williams turned a Jalen Johnson turnover into a dunk for a 119-111 lead.
Jake LaRavia followed with a cutting dunk off a Dončić assist, and Matisse Thybulle buried a three in the final minute to finish it.
The Lakers shot 52.9 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range, making 15 of 35 attempts from deep. They also recorded 30 assists and 16 steals while forcing Atlanta into 19 turnovers.
Atlanta won the rebounding battle 53-46 and made 17 threes, but Los Angeles’ efficiency and defensive activity were enough to offset it.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Atlanta with 20 points, while CJ McCollum scored 21 off the bench. Onyeka Okongwu added 16 points and nine rebounds.
Lakers’ depth keeps delivering
The biggest development may have been how Los Angeles handled another night without its complete backcourt. Reaves and Quentin Grimes were both unavailable, yet the Lakers received 49 bench points and had five players score in double figures.
Mamukelashvili was especially important. He played 32 minutes, finished plus-20 and gave the Lakers another floor-spacer who could punish Atlanta when its defense tilted toward Dončić.
The Lakers continue their road trip Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT.