The visiting Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, 123 - 116. It was the best offensive night of the season for the Lakers, as the team recorded 123 points on 54 percent shooting from the floor. Sophomore point guard D'Angelo Russell led the charge with a team - high 23 points. After coming off the bench for a large portion of the 2015 - 16 season, Russell has seen an expanded role thus far as a starter under new coach Luke Walton. This was evident on Wednesday night, as Russell not only led the Lakers in scoring but dished out eight assists. Los Angeles also saw a boost from their bench, as three players scored at least 14 points for the second unit. Despite trailing at halftime, LA was able to come out strong in the second half and catch up to the Hawks in the third quarter before outscoring Atlanta 33 - 22 in the fourth to seal the win. New acquisition Dwight Howard had his biggest game as a Hawk, scoring 31 on his former team. Howard also recorded 11 rebounds and shot an efficient 12 - of - 16 from the field. While Howard crashed the boards effectively, the team finished with a four - rebound deficit on the night. A cold shooting night from the rest of the starting five also hurt the Hawks. Shooting guard Kyle Korver struggled particularly, as he was just 1 - for - 6 from the field, scoring only three points on the night. The Hawks will visit the Wizards on Friday, while the Lakers will host the Warriors.
["TeamStat(G,'Hawks') has 116 Losses ,has 22 Total points ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Lakers') has 3 Losses ,has 123 Total points ,has 33 Points in 4th quarter ."]