The Atlanta Hawks were just throttled by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe Bryant had 20 points before sitting on the bench for most of the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to a 104-80 demolition of the Hawks on Tuesday night at the Staples Center.
Joe Johnson had 14 points and Al Horford added 13 for the Hawks, who never really were in the game.
This one was so bad that it really doesn't deserve a recap.
Jack Nicholson was there. Jack Black was there. The Laker Girls were there. Kobe Bryant was there. I'm not exactly sure where the Hawks were. Perhaps they still think that it's still the All-Star Break.
Just about nothing went right for Atlanta, which trailed by 13 after one, 21 at the break and 26 after three quarters. By the fourth, I was looking at the Atlanta Hawks Cheerleaders' new site with the TV on in the background, just in case a fight broke out or someone got hurt.
Josh Smith had a forgettable game, posting seven points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field. He also missed two free throws when Kobe of all people was whistled for a Flagrant-1 in the third quarter.
Atlanta was outrebounded 54-32 and shot just 37-percent (30-for-82) from the field. Los Angeles shot 49-percent (32-for-66) and throttled the Hawks despite turning the ball over 19 times. It kinda helped that Atlanta was 1-for-15 from behind the 3-point line. Pathetic.
Every single Lakers player found the score sheet. You can't say the same for Atlanta starters Mike Bibby and Jason Collins. Give them a big zero in this one. Kind of like the Hawks effort. It was just plain brutal. So brutal that I refuse to add quotes unless someone says "we totally sucked tonight" because the effort was suck-tastic.
Shannon Brown had 15 points off of the bench and former Hawks draft pick Pau Gasol added 14 for the Lakers, who snapped a three game losing streak against the Orlando Magic, the Charlotte Bobcats and the terrible Cleveland Cavaliers.