The Los Angeles Lakers picked up one of their best wins of the season in their comeback victory over the New York Knicks. Both LeBron James and Luka Doncic posted 30-point double-doubles, but the Lakers also got some big contributions from the likes of Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht off the bench.
Over this recent stretch, the Lakers have continually gotten huge nights from different role players and LeBron made it clear that every player on this team is important.
“There’s no such thing as non-key players on this team,” James said after the win. “Everybody is key, and everybody steps on the floor has a role and they go in and match that and I thought our bench gave us a great lift once again and Gabe [Vincent], single him out. He was spectacular his play both on the defensive end and obviously with a shooting that we needed. We were not making any outside shots.”
Vincent made some huge fourth quarter shots for the Lakers and, quite simply, they don’t pick up the win without his play. LeBron and Luka are the players leading the way, but it takes the efforts of the whole team for the Lakers to succeed and LeBron feels this team can accomplish a lot as long as they continue to put in the necessary work.
“Just about work. We got to continue to put the work in,” James added. “We have an opportunity to get better and better each and every game, and we still continue to learn each other, and that’s a good thing. That’s a good thing for us that we have room for improvement, and looking forward to seeing what we can become.”
The Lakers have the potential to become champions if they continue to play at this level. A big reason for this is simply because the Lakers are playing hard every night and James feels that is part of the makeup of this squad.
“I mean, we have to. It’s part of our DNA. It’s who we are,” LeBron said. “We have to play hard. We have to play physical. We have to bring the fight to the game, and everybody who checks in does the same thing from the starters all the way to the bench. So, it’ll give us the best chance to win every night if we do that.”
This Lakers team has come together quicker than anyone could have imagined, following the game plan, and playing the right way and as long as they do that, they can live with the results.
“I think we’re just holding each other accountable. We want to get better,” James said. “This is a product of winning when it comes to this league and the Lakers franchise. They’ve won so much, and you always want to be on that side of the fence. So, guys are buying into what JJ [Redick] and the coaches give us every single night.
“Our keys to success, our keys to goals and then we just try to go out and execute that. It’s close to 48 minutes or 53, like I said tonight, and [we] live with the results. If we do what the coaches are putting out there, we can be okay win, lose or draw at the end of the night.”
So far, those results have been wins far more often than not and LeBron and the Lakers continue to be on the right trend.
Lakers’ LeBron James discusses lesson learned from comeback vs. Knicks
The win over the Knicks was a great one for the Lakers and LeBron James discussed the challenges and what the team could take away from this victory.
“Every game is going to have its own challenges, every game is going to be difficult, and it’s gonna matter if you’re up or down, whatever the case may be,” LeBron said. “The game is not over until zeroes on the clock, and then we even got an extra five a day. We got us no matter what happens is each possession how we can maximize each possession to get better and better offensively, defensively continue to break through and was able to do that was a very great team.”
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