The Los Angeles Lakers were able to snap a three-game losing skid on Wednesday with a win over the Atlanta Hawks. D’Angelo Russell played a significant role in the win with the point guard scoring a team-high 23 points and dishing out eight assists.
Immediately after the game, Russell spoke with Lakers reporter Mike Trudell on Spectrum SportsNet and talked about what it felt like to get the second win of the season, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
D’Angelo Russell to @LakersReporter on getting the win on road (on @SpectrumSN): "We got tired of losing honestly. We just came together."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 3, 2016
Although the Lakers struggled throughout the majority of the first half against the Hawks, the team was able to chip away at Atlanta’s lead in the second half. Russell and company started to become a cohesive unit in the final quarters and eventually took control of the game in the fourth.
Along with Russell playing well, Luke Walton got a good performance out of quite a few players on the roster. Five other Lakers scored in double figures with Jordan Clarkson (16), Nick Young (17), Lou Williams (18), Larry Nance Jr. (14), and Luol Deng (13) all contributing offensively.
The Lakers also got it done defensively with the team coming up with 11 steals in the win. Dwight Howard imposed his will in the paint with a game-high 31 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to beat his former team. Los Angeles is now sporting a 2-3 record to end the road trip with another tough test upcoming on Friday back at the Staples Center.
On Friday night, Walton will face his former team, the Golden State Warriors, for the first time in the regular season. Stephen Curry and company will come to town for the first of three games against the Lakers in the month of November.