The Los Angeles Lakers snapped their four-game skid after scoring a hard-earned 114-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on Tuesday, leaning on big games from Kobe Bryant and Jeremy Lin.
Bryant scored 28 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists, while Lin had his best all-around performance for the Lakers as he finished with 15 points and 10 assists to go along with three rebounds and two steals.
Carlos Boozer also had his best game in a Lakers uniform as he tallied a double-double with 20 points on 10-for-14 shooting and 10 rebounds, while Nick Young added 17 points and five rebounds in his first game back from a thumb injury, helping Los Angeles score their second win in 11 games this season.
Bryant, who is averaging 27.4 points to go along with 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season, had a more efficient game on Tuesday night. The 36-year-old, who also became the fourth player in the NBA to score 32,000 points, needed just 18 shots for the Lakers - far from his average of 26.7 shots over the past seven games.
"The ball was moving," Lakers coach Byron Scott said after the game via ESPN. "The spacing was good. Guys were doing a really good job of setting screens. And we were just looking for each other and playing real good team basketball on both ends of the floor tonight."
Lin and Boozer took a swipe at Bryant for his high number of shot attempts in their previous games. Lin, who had his fair share of struggles this season, questioned Bryant's shot selection, and added that they should learn to trust and improve communication with each other.
"The game of basketball is we've got to do it together. It can't be, if I go into a game concerned about myself, then in some ways that's detrimental to the team," Lin told ESPN Los Angeles. "There's so many things wrong right now. At the top of the list, I would say communication, trust and effort."
The Lakers will look to sustain their momentum when they travel to Houston to face the Rockets at Toyota Center.
