Los Angeles Lakers News And Updates: Pau Gasol and Xavier Henry Saves Lakers With New Lineup, Can LA Make A Good Run With The Absence Of Kobe Bryant?

The Los Angeles Lakers are now 2-2 coming into the new season capped off with a 105-103 win against the mighty Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles last Sunday.

With the team rebuilding and struggling due to the loss of Kobe Bryant in the lineup due to injury, the Lakers are fighting back with newly acquired players getting the groove of their new team and veteran players getting their games back from preseason rust.

"I've been playing those guys for a while, so I really didn't have to change anything," Lakers player Xavier Henry said. "Basically I just had to go out there and still be aggressive and still be consistent."

Xavier Henry started for LA for the first time as a Laker carried the team with an 18-point finish.

Pau Gasol who said he got his game back sealed in two clutch free throws to tie the game with only six seconds left in the fourth quarter.

With a 21-point lead in the second half, the Lakers fell down quickly with a second half run made by the Hawks.

"There was a little bit of an energy drop in the second half and a lot of missed assignments, but we picked it up and a lot of guys made some good plays," Xavier said. "I don't want to say it was because we wanted it more, but you could tell. When the game was on the line, guys were like: 'We were already up 20. We were not going to let this one slip by.'"

With the Lakers missing the presence of their veteran star player, Henry stepped up when he started the game as Mike D'Antoni shuffled the lineup of the team to find the best combination for them.

"We're still trying to find the right combinations and rack up the wins while we do it," Henry said. "We have a lot of new guys, and a lot of guys still need to learn how to play with each other. We're trying new lineups and stuff, so we're still going to be working and trying to compete."