The Knicks will have two All-Stars playing in Los Angeles in two weeks, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
That’s not who led them to a win on Sunday — the Knicks depth was on full display. It was OG Anunoby scoring 25 to lead the New York in scoring, all while playing lockdown defense.
It was Landry Shamet coming off the bench to knock down six 3-pointers and score 23. It was Josh Hart scoring 20 on 8-of-11 shooting.
It was the Knicks pulling away in the fourth to secure a 112-100 win over the Lakers in a highly anticipated game in Madison Square Garden.
“It’s huge...” Hart said of Anunoby being aggressive. “It opens the court up. He’s someone who obviously can knock down shots but get to the rim with his size and strength really at will so we need him to continue to do that. I think he’s in a good mental space of being aggressive and getting to the rim.”
That makes it five straight wins for the Knicks, who have given up less than a point per possession in that streak and have the best defense in the NBA for those five games. Coach Mike Brown said postgame that they had recently simplified some things for their perimeter defenders — so they know better where the help is coming from — and it has worked.
“I think the biggest part of our defense has been our communication, our physicality, our accountability without having to point fingers and say who was wrong or who wasn’t,” Brunson said postgame. “Just kind of being on the string and be on the same page, I think that’s the biggest part of our turnaround so far.”
Brunson: Knicks ‘playing together’ amid win streak
Jalen Brunson is proud of how the New York Knicks have responded after their tough stretch and praises his teammates for "playing together" after knocking off the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Knicks’ All-Stars, Towns and Brunson, combined for 22 points on 9-of-26 shooting (34.6%), although Brunson did dish out 13 assists.
This could be LeBron’s final game in Madison Square Garden, and at age 41 he still put on s a show scoring 22, including this emphatic alley-oop.
The Lakers stars showed up. Luka Doncic had a cold-blooded 30 points to go with 15 rebounds and eight assists on the night, and he was having fun early.
The Lakers’ biggest challenge — on this night and too many others — was the opposite of what the Knicks faced. The Lakers are not a great defensive team (25th in the league). The trio of Marcus Smart, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia are the Lakers’ best perimeter defenders, yet they combined to shoot 2-of-13 (15.4%) from 3-point range. Their depth does not help Los Angeles nightly. It’s something the Lakers are hoping to at least improve on at the trade deadline, but the kind of wing players the Lakers need are in high demand across the league.
Deandre Ayton had a strong first half for the Lakers with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting but had just one bucket in the second half.