ATLANTA — With the Lakers trailing the Atlanta Hawks by 14 points with 6:20 remaining in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, Rui Hachimura stepped to the free-throw line after being fouled by Hawks center Clint Capela.
With the Lakers trying to rally from what was once a 20-point deficit, any points they could cobble together would help. Especially with the clock not running.
But Hachimura was part of the team’s night-long struggles at the charity stripe – a significant factor in their 138-122 loss to the Hawks, their second double-digit loss in as many nights.
Hachimura’s first attempt: short, hitting the front of the rim.
His second attempt: short again, appearing to show the fatigue of the Lakers playing on the second night of a back-to-back after falling to the Rockets in Houston the previous night.
Hachimura, who finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting off the bench, wasn’t the only Laker who came up short at the free-throw line.
The Lakers (24-25) made just 14 of their 25 free-throw attempts for their season-worst free throw percentage. They missed four of their first five attempts at the foul line to begin the fourth quarter.
Austin Reaves (season-high 28 points, six assists) went 5 for 7 at the line. LeBron James (20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) made just four of his nine attempts.
The Lakers’ free-throw shooting wasn’t their lone struggle against the Hawks.
Their transition defense was once again abysmal, leading to them allowing 23 fast-break points. So were their contests on 3-point shooters, with the Hawks making 16 of their 38 shots from behind the arc.
Trae Young led the Hawks (20-27) with 26 points and 13 assists while potential Laker trade target Dejounte Murray had 24 points and nine assists. Murray, knocked down mid-range jumpers on three straight possessions midway through the fourth quarter to turn back any thoughts of a Lakers comeback as Atlanta had seven players score in double figures, including all…
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