After beginning their road trip with a 3-1 record, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to keep things rolling when they took on the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
This was the Lakers’ toughest test of the road trip on paper as they faced one of the best teams in the league without Anthony Davis. They passed the test with flying colors, earning a 128-112 victory to improve their record to 28-19.
LeBron James, who has always loved playing at Madison Square Garden, kicked off the scoring with a layup, followed by an Austin Reaves triple. O.G. Anunoby got himself off to a nice start with five straight points, but Rui Hachimura then had a quick eight points for L.A.
The game had a fast pace early, which was playing to the advantage of James and Hachimura. They carried the load offensively for the Lakers, although the Knicks ended the quarter on a run to tie the game at 32.
New York took its first lead early in the second before Dorian Finney-Smith and Hachimura drilled back-to-back 3s. Finney-Smith got hot from there, making four in a row from deep to force a Knicks timeout.
While the Knicks’ offensive rebounding kept them in it, the Lakers still went into the halftime locker room leading 59-54 after a strong half of basketball.
Anunoby hurt himself on a non-contact injury early in the third quarter, taking some air out of the arena. He was eventually ruled out with a right foot sprain. James continued to play aggressive offensively for L.A. though as he and Reaves kept their team out in front.
A four-point play by Miles McBride helped halt the Lakers’ momentum, and then Josh Hart banked one in from almost halfcourt at the buzzer to cut the Knicks’ deficit to 91-89 going into the fourth.
With the Lakers needing a spark, Max Christie provided it with five straight points early in the final quarter. Gabe Vincent then connected from deep on back-to-back attempts to extend the lead to double digits.
James continued to put on a show from there, and the Lakers defense did an exceptional job on Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. With LeBron scoring with ease, the Lakers had no issues closing out the victory.
It was yet another exception performance from James at Madison Square Garden, recording a triple-double with 33 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will now return home and get a couple of days off before taking on the L.A. Clippers at Intuit Dome on Tuesday night.
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