LOS ANGELES — The Lakers have won six straight after an all-around 124-114 road win over the Hawks on Monday to improve to an NBA best 10-2 record, and the numbers behind the streak show how they’ve done it.
They’ve scored more efficiently than any team in the NBA over that stretch while getting nearly a fifth of their points off turnovers.
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The Lakers led the league with 125.7 points per game and a 123.6 offensive rating during the streak. The latter measures points per 100 possessions, and L.A. led in that category while also shooting a league-best 50.7% from the field.
Here’s where the Lakers ranked across the NBA over the same stretch.
First in scoring and shooting efficiency
Luka Dončić earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors after averaging 45.0 points and scoring at least 40 in each of his three appearances last week.
That included a season-high 53-point performance against Portland, when the Lakers erased a 16-point deficit for their fourth straight win.
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Austin Reaves kept the streak going in Detroit with Dončić sidelined by lower back tightness. Reaves scored a season-high 43 points and hit an off-balance 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to help close out a 121-116 win.
Dončić returned the next night in Atlanta and finished with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and five steals while Reaves sat out with an illness.
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored a season-high 23 points off the bench and made five of the Lakers’ 15 3-pointers. Walker Kessler added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Collin Sexton had 18 points and six assists.
As a team, L.A. ranked second in 3-point shooting at 39.4% and first in true shooting at 63.8%, a measure that accounts for 3-pointers and free throws.
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First in points off turnovers
The Lakers averaged a league-best 24.3 points off turnovers during the streak, accounting for about 19% of their scoring. They also ranked second with 11.2 steals per game. Dončić’s five steals in Atlanta matched his total against Toronto in the first game of the streak.
Tied for third in blocks
The Lakers also averaged 6.2 blocks, tied for third in the NBA over the stretch. A lot of which has to do with their best offseason acquisition in Kessler, who is third in the NBA in blocks at 2.3 blocks a game.
To go with his blocks, Kessler is averaging 14.4 points and 10.9 rebounds in 11 games.
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Alongside their steals ranking, it gives L.A. two top-three marks in defensive categories during a run that’s drawn most of its attention for what Dončić and Reaves have done on offense.
The Lakers will go for their seventh straight win Wednesday in Milwaukee.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
