Kobe Bryant was barely touched by Joe Johnson when the refs blew the whistle awarding the Los Angeles Lakers superstar three free throws. As the serenades of "MVP!" reigned down from the rafters, Bryant hit all three from the charity stripe to pass Moses Malone for sixth place on the all-time scoring list.
Yep. The superstar rule and those obnoxious visiting fans are out in full force at Philips Arena.
Bryant has 15 points and Lamar Odom 10 to lead the Lakers to a 57-49 lead over the Hawks on Tuesday night.
Josh Smith, Al Horford and Joe Johnson posted 11 each for Atlanta, which is just getting utterly destroyed in the paint.
Nevertheless, the Hawks are still in this game despite turning the ball over eight times against a Lakers team that is shooting 58-percent (25-for-43) from the field. Los Angeles also has 16 assists on their 25 field goals.
The Hawks have had success from beyond the 3-point line, connecting on 4-of-10 from behind the arc. But that's not necessarily a good thing. Atlanta lives and dies from being able to post up inside. While it's difficult for the Hawks to do so against a big L.A. team, they're playing a bit stagnant, standing around the perimeter and shooting outside-in instead of inside-out.