Hawks’ skid hits three as Lakers keep winning

By Bud L. Ellis

The recent trends continued Tuesday night at Philips Arena for the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers, and that wasn’t good news for Hawks’ fans.

The Lakers made it eight victories in a row, running out to a big lead and cruising to a 101-87 victory over Atlanta, the Hawks’ third consecutive defeat.

The Hawks got a team-high 17 points from Al Horford. Josh Smith scored 16 points, Kirk Hinrich added 12, Joe Johnson scored 11 and Damien Wilkins added 10 for Atlanta, which sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta is three games behind fourth-place Orlando and leads New York by three games.

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 26 points, one of five Lakers to hit double figures. Andrew Bynum scored 16 points with 16 rebounds, Pau Gasol added 14 points and 11 rebounds, Lamar Odom scored 12 and Derek Fisher added 11 for Los Angeles, which moved within one game of second-place Dallas in the Western Conference. The Lakers are six games behind West leader San Antonio, who the Lakers beat 99-83 on Sunday.

The Hawks travel to Central Division leader Chicago on Friday. The Lakers travel to Miami for a showdown with the Heat on Thursday.

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Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 10:01 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Andrew Bynum, Atlanta Hawks news, Atlanta Hawks schedule, Atlanta Hawks tickets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Damien Wilkins, Derek Fisher, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Kirk Hinrich, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, National Basketball Association, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Pau Gasol, Philips Arena, San Antonio Spurs