Lakers News: LeBron James Rings In Year 38 With 47-Piece In Win Over Hawks

It was a veritable LeBron-A-Thon down in the ATL.

Well that's one way to turn 38.

Birthday boy LeBron James put on a show tonight, helping your Los Angeles Lakers capitalize on the absence of two Atlanta Hawks starters (small forward De'Andre Hunter and center Clint Capela) in securing a surprise 130-121 victory on the road. 

James was one dime away from a triple-double, as he logged a season-most 47 points on 18-of-27 shooting from the floor (4-of-6 from deep), 10 rebounds, and nine assists in 39:39.

The Hawks got off to a sharpshooting start in the first quarter, going 4-of-10 from deep, a significant edge over the Lakers' 1-of-8 long range run in the frame. Austin Reaves (starting in the stead of the ailing Lonnie Walker IV), the only Laker to take multiple triples in that initial quarter, was also the only Laker to connect from beyond the arc in that window. He scored his entire offense, five points, in that quarter. After the first period, Atlanta led 33-23.

James started to heat up in a major way during the second quarter. He scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 shooting from the charity stripe, dished out seven assists, and pulled down four boards. 

James was so impressively youthful tonight that even an ostensibly hostile arena proved pretty darn receptive to his greatness:

down the lane 👑

📺: (@SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/bMUrgKD8mW

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 31, 2022

He was in his bag tonight, even sneaking in a little Dirk Nowitzki tribute:

Baseline fadeaway 👀 pic.twitter.com/tIKEhZ9DKI

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 31, 2022

Thomas Bryant cleaned the glass with prolific abandon, grabbing seven rebounds in the period. The Hawks built their advantage up to as much as 15 points, but the Lakers closed the half strong, going on a 9-2 tear in the last 1:48 of the period.

Second-year Jalen Johnson had the hot hand for the Hawks in the quarter, scoring 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe.

In an uncharacteristically exciting turn of events, the Lakers became the aggressors in the third quarter. James led the way by pouring in another 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting) and four rebounds in the period, and LA outscored Atlanta 36-28. LA led by a possession heading into the fourth, 98-95.

The game was back-and-forth for much of the fourth, until James decided enough was enough, scoring 10 of LA's final 16 points. Bryant, Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schröder contributed the rest.

Bryant had another big night starting in the stead of LA All-Star Anthony Davis. The 6'10" big man had a 19-point (on 8-of-10 shooting), 17-rebound double-double, plus a block, an assist and a steal. Bryant and James flashed a solid two-man game throughout the evening:

TB to the rim 💥 pic.twitter.com/Lc3PlUeIDB

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 31, 2022

Westbrook also notched a double-double, scoring 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, dishing out 11 assists, and grabbing eight rebounds.

Six Lakers scored in double figures, with power forward Wenyen Gabriel stepping up for some crucial moments.

On the Hawks side, All-Star guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray led the way. Young had 29 points on 11-of-24 shooting, along with eight assists (against four turnovers), three rebounds and a steal. Murray had 20 points on 8-of-17 sooting, nine assists, seven rebounds, and a steal.

The victory improves the Lakers' record to a still-meh 15-21 on the year, while the Hawks now slide to 17-19.