LA Lakers 107-99 Atlanta Hawks: Twitter erupts after LeBron James dominates in the clutch again

LeBron delivered the knockout punch late in the game

The LA Lakers ended their seven-game road trip with a hard-earned victory at the State Farm Arena against the Atlanta Hawks. LeBron James scored nine straight points with 1:12 left on the game clock to settle the deal for his side who won 107-99. Trae Young and co. put in a complete shift but LeBron's heroics and some solid defense from the visitors was enough to put the game to bed.

Anthony Davis led the scoring for LA Lakers with 25 points on 10-of-14 scoring. Young was the wrecker-in-chief for the Atlanta Hawks with his 25 points and 16 assists.

LA Lakers and Atlanta Hawks play out a close first quarter

There was plenty of effort from both the LA Lakers and Atlanta Hawks to start the game with the former enjoying a slight lead. The Hawks had the shooting touch though while the Purple and Gold failed to make a single three in the first quarter.

Schroder ball pressure on Trae has been excellent. Zero separation on any screen action.
— Raj C. (@UnwrittenRul3s) February 2, 2021

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope found his touch in the second quarter though after some tough games. He finished with 11 points on the night.

Anthony Davis was the standout performer for the LA Lakers in the first half with an efficient 12 points. LeBron James struggled during this stretch thanks to some solid defending by Atlanta Hawks' Cam Reddish. Frank Vogel's men enjoyed a slender 50-46 lead at the break.

Cam Reddish has clamped Lebron tonight. Not many people can say that
— SportsTalkATL.com (@SportsTalkATL) February 2, 2021

Atlanta Hawks take the initiative early but LA Lakers secure the win

The Hawks were outplayed down the stretch

The second half started in a similar manner, with both sides exchanging blows. Midway through the third quarter, the Atlanta Hawks went on an 18-6 run to take the lead against the LA Lakers. Trae Young kept setting up his teammates but his antics to draw fouls didn't please everyone.

16 assists from Trae Young.

A lot of them have been obscene passes.
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) February 2, 2021

The timeline is turning on Trae Young
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) February 2, 2021

Trae Young is 6’0 180 lbs, and people are mad that he uses the rules to his advantage to offset his size disadvantage.

Blame the game, not the player.
— Guru (@DrGuru_) February 2, 2021

Trezz can’t be on the floor defending Capela. Come on, AD.
— Ry (@JustRyCole) February 2, 2021

Anthony Davis also got in foul trouble early and played with reduced physicality as Clint Capela dominated the boards. That's when the LA Lakers turned on the afterburners. Alex Caruso made some stellar plays on both ends of the court while Kyle Kuzma locked up Young.

I need the Los Angeles Lakers to extend Alex Caruso TODAY.
— Colb (@___Colb___) February 2, 2021

Sorry Rondo, there is a new player giving the Lakers swag now pic.twitter.com/gpJy7C7wMz
— Silver Screen & Roll (@LakersSBN) February 2, 2021

Kuzma putting the clamps on Trae Young ❌pic.twitter.com/yMWwj3ywOj
— LakeShow (@LakeShowCP) February 2, 2021

This is just a winning lineup. AC/THT/Kuz with a lot of natural synergy, add Bron as the engine, and Trez as the cleanup guy. Switch everything, swarm the ball, and go nuts.
— Ben Rosales (@brosales12) February 2, 2021

The LA Lakers started the fourth quarter 11-0 and pretty much dominated the rest of the way. The team shut off though with the scorecard reading 96-86 in their favor. That's when the Atlanta Hawks went on an 8-0 run of their own to make things interesting again.

❄️❄️❄️@TheTraeYoung x #NBAAllStar https://t.co/MFvZm2U5ks pic.twitter.com/yZ5Ok27vBh
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 2, 2021

LeBron James then decided to take over. He dropped clutch buckets and the LA Lakers clamped up their defensive as the Atlanta Hawks capitulated. King James rose to the occasion once again and was showered praise for the same.

LeBron's Legacy MVP award gets strengthened each day by the fact that he's probably just actually the MVP. What a close to end a road trip. 9 points in the final 1:12 to close out a W.
— Mark Strotman (@markstrot) February 2, 2021

SKIP SEEING LEBRON IN THE CLUTCH pic.twitter.com/QvgRchxg9s
— 𝒲𝑒𝐵𝓇𝑜𝓃𝒮𝒵𝒩 (@LeBronSZN__) February 2, 2021

don't want to speculate or anything I hate speculating but im pretty sure lebron can play and be good at basketball forever if he wants
— Dom2K☘🤦🏾‍♂️ (@Dom_2k) February 2, 2021

LeBron made a nice late three to help hold off the Hawks, after Reddish had defended him about as well as anyone has. Lakers as a team defending at a high level ... but still aren't the Clippers on D or certainly the Nets on O. #NothingbutNets.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 2, 2021

Also read: LA Lakers 107-99 Atlanta Hawks: 5 Hits and flops from the defensive slugfest