Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 39 points, but injured his ankle and was in the locker room for the waning moments of overtime as the Knicks fell to the Lakers, 113-109, on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
The Lakers extended their winning streak to eight, and the Knicks dropped their first game of the five-game West Coast trip. It’s the first time the Knicks lost a game in overtime this season.
Here are the takeaways…
-New York seemed jetlagged to start this one. In the first five minutes, only Brunson and Josh Hart showed up. The duo were a combined 4-for-4 from the field, scoring the team’s first 10 points while the rest of the starters were 0-for-5. No Knicks players other than Brunson or Hart would score until 3:45 left in the first quarter.
Brunson and Hart combined for 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting. The rest of the team scored eight points on 4-of-14 shooting. As a team, the Knicks shot 1-of-10 from three.
It was worse on the defensive end, allowing Luka Doncic to score a quick 10 points and LeBron James to dish three assists off of pick and rolls. The Lakers shot at a 57.9 percent clip and outrebounded the Knicks 14-10 in the opening frame. Despite that, the Knicks were only down 31-27, thanks to a fadeaway jumper from Brunson as time expired.
-With the secondary unit on the floor to start the second, the Knicks got off to an 11-1 run due to an increase in defensive intensity and the three-point shot finally going down. The Lakers also got cold, going 0-for-8 from three in the quarter. The Knicks built a 12-point lead with 2:48 to go, but Los Angeles became more aggressive, driving to the basket and drawing fouls. The Knicks’ three-point shooting helped stave off bigger Lakers runs and they went into halftime up 60-51.
OG Anunoby was the star of the second quarter for the Knicks, scoring 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting (3-for-3 from three).
-The Knicks’ lead in the third remained the same for the majority of the quarter. The Lakers went on a 7-0 run with less than four minutes remaining, but the Knicks defense clamped down to rebuild their lead back up to double digits. Brunson scored 10 points in the quarter and was the engine for the Knicks’ offense throughout. Dalton Knecht hit a three-pointer as time expired to pull the Lakers within eight points heading into the fourth quarter to swing some of the momentum their way.
-The non-Brunson minutes early in the fourth did not go well for the Knicks. The offense looked stagnant and Tom Thibodeau had to go back to his point guard with eight minutes remaining. The Lakers, even with Brunson on the floor, cut the Knicks’ lead to one with four minutes remaining, thanks to a 10-1 run and Los Angeles’ defense forcing turnover after turnover.
The teams exchanged buckets before a James three with less than two minutes to go tied the game at 96 apiece, and a Gabe Vincent three put the Lakers up with 1:21 to go. Brunson’s and-one tied the score again but after a great defensive stand by the Knicks, the Lakers doubled Brunson to get the ball out of his hand, and Hart could not get his shot off in time as the game went to overtime.
-In overtime, it was Luka time to start. The newest Laker hit two straight shots, including a three from way beyond the arc with Anunoby draped all over him. Brunson answered with four consecutive points but Austin Reaves hit a three to shut down the Knicks’ run.
Knicks nation will have to hold its breath after Brunson drove to the basket on the next possession and rolled his ankle on the foot of a defender when he landed. He hit both free throws to tie the game at 107-107 but had to be helped to the back.
The Lakers hit two free throws on their next possession, giving the Knicks the ball with one minute to go. Miles McBride missed a good look two but Karl-Anthony Towns, going for the offensive rebound, was called for the loose ball foul on James. The 40-year-old sunk both his free throws to put LA up by two scores. The Lakers defense kept running the Knicks off the three-point line and New York, without Brunson, could not decide on how to take a shot. Anunoby would drive to the basket and make the layup and was fouled. Unfortunately, the forward missed his free throw. James was fouled on the rebound and made both free throws to seal the win.
-Towns returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game due to personal reasons, and he was visibly slower, picking up two quick fouls in the opening frame and being relegated to the bench. Towns finished with 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting (1-for-6 from three), 14 rebounds and one assist.
–Mitchell Robinson, in his fourth game back from injury, put in just 13 minutes but provided some size. But with the small Lakers team, Robinson wasn’t used as much. He scored six points and grabbed four boards. We also saw our first minutes where Towns and Robinson were on the floor at the same time, but it was brief.
–Precious Achiuwa was unavailable in this game, which meant the bench had to put in a lot more work. The Knicks bench scored just 14 points, while the Lakers bench contributed 32 points. The Knicks were also outrebounded 64-56.
-Anunoby was the second-highest scorer, putting up 20 points, while Hart (18) and Bridges (6) rounded out the scoring for the Knicks starters.
Doncic scored 32 points on 9-of-23 shooting (4-for-12 from three) and dished out 12 assists and came down with seven rebounds — in addition to four steals to lead the Lakers. James had 31 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Game MVP: Jalen Brunson
Without Brunson, the Lakers could have put the game away in the first quarter. He was also the engine for the offense and without him, the Knicks could not get the shots they needed to tie or win in OT.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks stay in Los Angeles to continue their West Coast trip on Friday against the Clippers. Tip is set for 10:30 p.m.
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