Sunday afternoon was a fun matchup at Crypto.com Arena as the stars were out to watch the Los Angeles Lakers host the New York Knicks.
Unfortunately, LeBron James was out of the lineup due to injury, making things tough for L.A. They were up for the challenge though, coming away with an impressive 110-97 victory over the Knicks.
Austin Reaves hasn’t been playing with much aggression lately, but he got fouled on a 3-pointer and then made his next triple to kick this one off.
Neither team could get much going offensively early and Deandre Ayton played a big role in that with a pair of blocks. He then finished a lob from Luka Doncic, putting the Lakers up 11-4.
The Lakers were an the unfortunate end of the officiating as Jaxson Hayes picked up an offensive foul right as Luke Kennard was making a 3-pointer. He then picked up a technical foul, and the Knicks took advantage by responding with a 3 of their own.
That seven-point swing kept things close, although the Lakers still closed out a strong first quarter to take a 31-23 lead. Kennard capped things off with a corner triple.
Rui Hachimura, who started in place of James, was feeling it early as he hit his second 3-pointer to join Doncic in double figures. A layup by Reaves then extended the Lakers’ lead to double digits.
The Knicks began chipping away from there, although neither team could get much going offensively as the defenses made it tough. It was a poor close to the half for the Lakers, as they kept turning the ball over and allowed the Knicks to get back within five at 54-49 going into the locker room.
L.A. got back on track to begin the second half as Doncic and Reaves both hit deep triples to get the lead back to double digits.
The third quarter was all Lakers as they were locked in defensively, led by Marcus Smart. Doncic continued to lead the way on the other end, hitting a pair of circus shots to put the Lakers up 88-69 going into the fourth.
The Lakers kept pouring it on to begin the fourth quarter as Kennard completed a four-point play and then Reaves hit another 3 to get the lead up to 23.
From there though, the Knicks ripped off a 12-2 run to get back within striking distance and keep it from getting out of reach.
After a much-needed timeout, Doncic stayed calm and buried a midrange jumper over two defenders and then took a charge. Both teams went ice cold from there, which allowed the Lakers to close out the win as New York never made a real push.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers have three more games to wrap up their homestand, hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, Chicago Bulls on Thursday and Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
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