Three Takeaways From Hawks 138-122 Win Over the Lakers

The Hawks won their second straight game on Tuesday night

The Hawks secured their second straight win on Tuesday night when they faced the Lakers and it was the most complete victory that the Hawks have had in a while. 

Yes, the Lakers were without Anthony Davis and were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Hawks have not been a team that produces wire-to-wire victories. Their offense could not be stopped and while their defense was not great, it did enough to limit the Lakers and get a 16-point win. 

There is a lot to dissect about this game, but what are the three biggest takeaways?

1. It was good to see De'Andre Hunter back on the court

Hunter is one of the most important players on the Hawks because of what he brings with his size and defense. He is not the best player on the Hawks, but he is one of the most important and it showed in his absence. 

Before the game, head coach Quin Snyder said that Hunter was going to be on a minutes restriction and he wound up playing close to 17. He finished with six points, one rebound, and one assist. After the game, Snyder talked about what it means to have Hunter back out there and what his strengths are defensively:

"We are able to switch more. Tonight there were a few possessions where we did not have two of those guys in, but we have one of them coming off of the bench, whoever it is, they can give someone else a blow... we have had guys playing a lot of minutes and we trust them but anytime that you are up 35, 36, 37 minutes over a period of time, that is hard and you are asking a lot of guys and you can do that occasionally, but over the course of a season, back-to-backs to have Hunt back, you know we lost Jalen for a while and its good to see those guys, they were connected and on the defensive end, they are able to switch and help each other and that size is just different, it is different on the glass.

He has great habits. In shifting, in rotating, in helping, he has a good feel for where he needs to be and he's 6'8. Whether he is defending a wing or there are times where we have him on the ball, that versatility is really helpful and he takes pride in it too."

2. It was a balanced night of scoring for the offense

Jalen Johnson vs the Lakers / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Trae Young led the way with 26 points and Dejounte Murray had 24, but it was an all-around balanced night of scoring for the Atlanta Hawks. 

Saddiq Bey and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 18 points each, marking the second straight game where Bey had a good night. Jalen Johnson had 19, Clint Capela had 13 in another double-double, and Onyeka Okongwu had 11 off the bench. 

This has been the healthiest the Hawks have been since November and while there has been plenty of trade chatter around this team, that is something to note going forward. 

3. The Hawks three-point shooting had a bounce back

Atlanta had a really bad night shooting the ball in their win on Sunday against the Raptors and it nearly cost them. Last night though, they had a big bounce-back performance shooting from deep. 

The Hawks were 16-38 from three and six of those makes were from Trae Young. Bogdanovic and Hunter also had multiple makes and it looked like the kind of offense that Quin Snyder imagined at the beginning of the season. 

WATCH: Everything From Trae Young After the Hawks Win Over the Lakers

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