The Los Angeles Lakers’ annual Grammy road trip ended with a trip to Madison Square Garden to take on a streaking New York Knicks team.
The Knicks entered the primetime matchup as the hottest team in the league, winning their last five games. Meanwhile, the Lakers came in shorthanded and on paper, Los Angeles looked overmatched as New York has the size, physicality and depth to test the shorthanded unit.
However, the purple and gold played arguably their best two-way game of the 2024-25 season as they managed to pull off a 128-112 victory to close out their East Coast trip.
LeBron James has openly discussed his love for playing in Madison Square Garden due to the arena, fans and atmosphere and he didn’t disappoint as he put on an electric show for those in attendance. James seems to pick and choose when to turn on the gas, and against the Knicks he pulled out all the tricks in his deep arsenal of moves.
Throughout the evening, James got the fans out of their seats with dunks and tough 3-pointers. He also did his job on the defensive end by securing rebounds and putting his body on the line against New York’s front court.
The King looked ageless against the Knicks as he recorded another triple-double of 33 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in 37 minutes. LeBron has now won 13 of his last 14 games at Madison Square Garden.
Without Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura stepped up early as an offensive source for L.A. New York seemingly wanted to limit the other options on the floor and left Hachimura open, so he made them pay with a flurry of jumpers in the first quarter.
Hachimura slowed down in the second half, though he still finished with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Austin Reaves also seems to up his game when Davis is off the floor and he did just that as he was the Lakers’ second-leading scorer behind James with 27 points. Not only was Reaves effective scoring the basketball, he also did his job as a playmaker by dishing out six assists. Reaves rounded out his night with five rebounds and three steals as well.
Lastly, Max Christie had a strong two-way performance by limiting Jalen Brunson to just 17 points while pouring in 15 points of his own. It was Christie’s last game as a Laker after news came out that he and Davis were traded to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a blockbuster deal to acquire Luka Doncic.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will return home to Los Angeles, though will take on the L.A. Clippers at Intuit Dome on Tuesday to finish their road trip.
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