LeBron James Stats Tonight: Closer look at how 20x All-Star controlled game vs Hawks (March 18)

LeBron James and the LA Lakers destroyed the shorthanded Atlanta Hawks136-105 on Monday night to bounce back from a two-game losing streak. The Lakers trailed by eight points to start the contest, but a 16-2 run turned the tide. LA continued piling on the Hawks' misery, finishing the first quarter with a 10-point lead.

LeBron, Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell outsmarted the Hawks' defense early. Atlanta couldn't catch a break after that. They trailed by 14 at the half and still had a chance, but the Lakers kept their temp up in the third quarter and stretched the advantage to 25.

The Lakers continued their post-All-Star break hot streak from 3-point land, making 41.7% of their attempts from deep (15-of-36). They surprisingly held the Hawks to only nine 3s, which has been close to an anomaly this season for the Lakers' perimeter defense.

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LeBron James Stats Tonight: Closer look at how 4x MVP had Hawks on a string

LeBron James started the contest with a missed layup and a turnover as the Hawks went on an 8-0 run. However, the four-time MVP didn't take long to switch things around. He got going with a turnaround bank hook shot for his first points and shortly set up Anthony Davis on the block for an easy floater.

LeBron continues attacking the rim for the next few plays before lighting up the Hawks from 3. He finished with 12 of his 25 points in the first quarter alone, setting the tone for the rest of the night.

LeBron James scored on all three levels in the second quarter for seven points. He also added three assists to his tally, helping LA stretch its lead to 14 points. with Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell catching fire in the opening 12 minutes of the second half, LeBron took a backseat and tallied two points and two assists in that stretch.

He added the finishing touches with four quick points to start the final quarter before subbing out for the rest of the game as the Lakers took a 34-point lead with 8:40 left.

Here's LeBron James' stat line for tonight:

PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG	3-PT FG	FT	TOV	+/-
25	7	10	0	0	10-14	2-5	3-3	2	20

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Lakers back in 9th as Warriors lose

The LA Lakers dropped to 10th in the standings after back-to-back losses against the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. However, it's taken them one game to get back in ninth again after the Warriors lost 119-112 against the Knicks on Monday in the Bay Area.

The Lakers and Warriors are now tied in the loss column again (32). They seem likely to play each other in the play-in tournament in a knockout setting, but there's still enough time for both teams to surge up the rankings.