Lakers stumble in loss to Knicks
The Los Angeles Lakers dropped their third contest in four games after a 114–109 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday, despite 77 points combined between LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves.
The Lakers' loss drops them to 15–12 on the season and moves them to 10–3 at home.
With the Lakers big three of the night contributing most of the production, the rest of the bunch combined for just 32 points on 12-for-39 (30.7%) from the field.
“It’s a game of runs. All the looks we got tonight, I’ll take them every day of the week and twice on Sundays. You just got to continue being aggressive,” head coach Darvin Ham said.
A one-point lead heading into the half, thanks to a buzzer-beating jumper from Davis, gave the Lakers all the momentum heading into the locker room.
Despite a strong start in the second half, the Lakers slowed down toward the end of the third quarter as the Knicks went on a 16-2 run to outscore L.A. 33–22.
The Lakers outscored New York 29–24 in the fourth quarter, cutting it close to four, but their third-quarter blunder, mixed in with a strong closing from the Knicks, was not enough to overcome.
Davis’ aggressive start from tipoff earned him a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double going into the half. He finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds in 35 minutes.
After a slow start, scoring just five points in the first half, LeBron picked up his efforts in the second half, netting his second triple-double of the season with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in 39 minutes of action.
Reaves finished with 20 points on 6-of-15 from the field, adding seven assists and three rebounds in 33 minutes.
Since his move to the bench, Reaves has continued to regain his confidence game by game after a slow start to the season, scoring 20 or more points in three of the past four games.
Knicks duo Jalen Brunson and former Lakers lottery pick Julius Randle were a matchup nightmare for Los Angeles, with Brunson’s perfect-timing floaters and Randle’s bully ball in the paint.
Brunson finished with 29 points, while Randle finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds.
D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince had trouble finding their shots throughout, combing for a 6-for-23 total, including a 3-for-13 shooting night from three for Prince.
The Lakers will head on the road for their next three matchups, with a back-to-back scheduled for Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls, Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves and ending the road trip on Saturday versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Get some rest, get healthy and try to finish out December the right way,” LeBron said, heading into the road trip. “We just got to mentally stay locked in.”
The Lakers will play the Bulls at 5 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet.
