It was another tough night for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they fell to the Atlanta Hawks. 

Hawks soar in the first half 

The first half couldn't have gone more smoothly for the Atlanta Hawks offensively and defensively. Atlanta was great on the offensive end as they shot 56% (20-36) from the field and 50% from three in the first half. The Hawks were able to scored 56 points in the half and it came thanks to some unlikely heroes.

Kyle Korver had a spectacular first half as he hit all three of his three-point attempts to lead all scorers with 12 points in the half. Atlanta also got a lot of help off the bench as Kris Humphries pitched in 10 points along with four boards. It was a fantastic debut for him in a Hawks uniform, his third team in two weeks. His contribution, along with the nine of Paul Millsap, helped make for Al Horford's tough performance. Horford played only 12 minutes and didn't scored in the half. 

Atlanta also held their own on the defensive end as they held the Lakers to less than 20 points in both quarters in the first half. It was another tough first half for the Lakers, who were missing Kobe Bryant as well. They struggled from the three-point line (3-17) as Atlanta took control from the start. Julius Randle was the bright spot for the Lakers as he almost got a double double in the first half. Randle scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead LA in the first 24 minutes. 

It was a 54-36 lead for Atlanta at halftime. 

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More of the same in the second half for both teams

The second half didn't see any changes in the game as Atlanta kept chugging along past the Lakers. 

The third quarter was a step up for the Lakers offense as they scored 23 points, improving from their 19 and 17 point quarters in the first half. They got some good play from Randle and point guard Marcelo Huertas but it was still a big lead for Atlanta at 74-59 when the 3rd quarter ended. 

It wasn't much of a 4th quarter either as the Hawks ended up extending the lead up to 20 late on in the quarter. With around five minutes left both teams put their bench warmers in and in the end it was a 160-77 win for the Hawks. 

After their demoralizing loss to the Golden State Warriors, one the Hawks could have won, this win served as more of a moral boost for Atlanta. With the big game from Humphries, who made his debut tonight, Atlanta are trying to fix themselves going into the playoffs. They still have a lot of holes in team but a win over the Lakers gives them some much needed confidence. 

Top Performers 

Atlanta was led by Dennis Schroeder who pitched in 16 points on six of ten shooting from the field for the Hawks. 

The Lakers were led by Julius Randle who had a double double of 16 points and 10 rebound as LA suffered another loss. 

What's Next? 

After this game Atlanta will take on the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Lakers will take on the Golden State Warriors as they welcome Stephen Curry and company to the Staples Center

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu