New York — The Lakers gain ground and momentum in arguably their biggest win of the season, taking down the New York Knicks 128-112 on the road behind a LeBron James triple-double on Saturday night.
“I thought we executed our defensive gameplan, and we were very smart and strategic on how we played offense tonight,” head coach JJ Redick said.
The Lakers snapped the Knicks’ five-game win streak to improve to 28-19 (5th in the West), winners of seven of their last eight games.
Here are some takeaways from the Lakers win in New York:
LeBron James Triple-double
James made history in one of the best arenas in sports, Madison Square Garden, becoming the only player in NBA history to record multiple triple-doubles at the age of 40 or older—notching his first one against the Wizards on Jan. 21 in L.A.
With Anthony Davis back out till at least next week with a strained abdominal muscle, James ensured a statement win from start to finish. James had 33 points and 12 assists and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes, his 10th triple-double of the season (2nd in the NBA).
Defensive Game Plan Around Knicks Stars
Going into the game, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 50.5 points combined per game. The Lakers, behind an elite defensive game plan by Redick and the coaching staff, held the duo to 28 points combined on 10-of-30 shooting.
“They did a really good job executing the game plan—completely took Karl-Anthony Towns out of the game," Redick said.
The Lakers emphasized disrupting Towns when he got the ball inside the perimeter, doubling everything he caught in the post and at midrange, sending two defenders when he got the ball close to baseline. Towns finished with 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting from the floor.
Before gaining traction in the fourth quarter, Brunson had nine points in the first three quarters on 3-of-12 shooting from the floor. Eight points in the fourth quarter brought Brunson’s shooting numbers better than it were, finishing with 17 points.
Lakers Efficency
The juice started from the jump for L.A., hitting seven of their first nine shots, including three of four from beyond the arc, to take a 17-14 lead. But the Lakers couldnt break away with the Knicks keeping the pace, making six of their first 10 attempts.
James and Rui Hachimura carried the scoring load early, combining for 25 of the Lakers' 32 first-quarter points—James with 13 and Hachimura with 12.
The Lakers went with small ball in the second quarter with Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt in the front court. This led to Towns and Finney-Smith matching up, leading to Finney-Smith having wide open looks on pick and pops and catch and shoots.
Finney knocked down his first four attempts from 3-point range, finishing with 15 points on five made 3-pointers.
The Lakers would hit a season-high 19 3-pointers with a 47% shooting display from deep, including 58% from the field.
Next Game
The Lakers will finish their six-game Grammy road trip back home in Inglewood against the Clippers on Tuesday (7 p.m.), the second matchup between the two.
The Clippers have won four of their last five games with a 28-20 record, sitting one spot behind at sixth in the West.
