~STORY OF THE WEEK~

ATLANTA DEFEATS LOS ANGELES

If you were to boil Wednesday's Lakers-Hawks game down to a scientific analogy, complete with a cosmic touch in deference to L.A. coach Phil Jackson, Atlanta's 109-92 win revealed two teams working in parallel -- or at least very different -- universes. The Hawks are ticking steadily upward, their 48th win assuring the franchise and coach Mike Woodson of improving their shared win totals for the fifth straight season in nearly linear fashion: 13-26-30-37-47-48. Atlanta is the ninth franchise in NBA history to accomplish that, Dallas doing it most recently from 1998-'99 to 2002-'03. Only Minnesota ('92-'93 to '97-'08 ) has ever improved six straight seasons. The Lakers, competitive in the first quarter only to have the Hawks steadily grind them down, are casting about in search of an identity -- either offensive or defensive. They finished a 2-3 road trip that followed an 0-3 jaunt east earlier in the month, and lost three of four after an impressive win at San Antonio. 'Tis a time for fine-tuning, and seven Hawks scored in double figures as Atlanta (48-26) won its ninth straight home game, edging ahead of Boston (47-27) for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference pecking order. Atlanta is 13-2 at home against teams from the West, and swept all five Pacific division teams in Philips Arena. Joe Johnson scored 16 of his team-high 25 points in the second half, and Jamal Crawford (14 points) had plenty of help off the bench. Maurice Evans scored 18, and backup center Zaza Pachulia scored 10 points with 10 rebounds on a night when the home team bullied the Lakers in the paint. "I was just telling Mo the other day how we're going to need more than six guys to help us out in the postseason," said Atlanta forward Josh Smith, who rarely dazzled yet turned in a solid 12-point, eight-rebound, six-assist night. "It was an important win for us. We're trying for that third spot." The Lakers (54-21) have all but sewed up the No. 1 seed in the West, but otherwise have nothing to hang a hat upon. Their bench, outscored 42-12 Monday in a loss at lowly New Orleans, was dreadful again Wednesday as Atlanta's reserves outscored L.A.'s 48-22. Only because Lakers starting point guard Derek Fisher's struggles continued (he scored four points on 1 of 6 shooting) did Jordan Farmar get enough playing time to score 16 points to keep that total from being even more lopsided. "Fish couldn't buy a shot," said Jackson, who said before the game that the play of his reserves has made him want to vomit. "It's hard to digest. Everybody on their team got going, basically, at some point. We're not playing really solid defense." (NBA.com)