JJ Redick, Los Angeles Lakers
Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images
JJ Redick, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers had no LeBron James on Sunday afternoon. They had a 12:30 tip-off. They had an hour less sleep thanks to Daylight Savings. Their opponent had just dropped 142 points on the Denver Nuggets two nights earlier.
None of it mattered.
Los Angeles held the New York Knicks to 97 points and won 110-97 in a wire-to-wire performance that had JJ Redick pointing to one thing above everything else.
Redick Drops His Blunt Assessment
Lakers, JJ Redick, Lakers injury, Lakers injury report
GettyLos Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
After the win, Redick did not hesitate when asked what separated the Lakers on Sunday. His answer was straightforward.
“The key to the game — we always have three keys defensively and three keys offensively,” Redick told reporters. “Really, tonight, there was one key, and that was multiple efforts. I thought we did that throughout the game, not just in spurts. You go down the stretch, I think we had three or four possessions where we end up with either a deflection or steal. All of that was on multiple efforts. We were able to sustain that for all four quarters.”
He elaborated on the Knicks’ lone threatening run, which briefly trimmed the deficit late.
“The run where they got back into it — two things happened. It wasn’t [Jalen] Brunson hitting tough twos. It was the back-to-back transition threes that we gave up. And then on the offensive end, we had a stretch where we just couldn’t make a shot. We were generating wide-open catch-and-shoot threes from good shooters and just couldn’t knock them down.”
The Lakers held firm. That tells you something about this group.
Spectrum SportsNet
“Tonight, we were the more physical team.”
JJ Redick talks to the media after the #Lakers defeat the New York Knicks, 110-97. #LakeShow
What Made the Difference for the Lakers
Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers
GettyLuka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Luka Doncic led all scorers with 35 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Austin Reaves added 25 points, five assists, and three steals — only the third time he topped 20 points since returning from a left calf strain in February. Together without James, the two are now 9-2 this season.
But the performance went beyond star production. Marcus Smart was a force with a game-high plus-27 in under 30 minutes, drawing two charges and making the kind of hustle plays that never show up in box scores. Doncic drew his 13th charge of the season and credited Redick for instilling that mentality from day one.
“Just JJ mentioned it before the season,” Doncic said. “I think we are number one in charges, which is pretty awesome. Just trying to copy Marcus and AR.”
Redick himself called it a sacrificial mentality.
“You got to put your body on the line,” he said. “Our guys have been motivated to do that all year.”
The numbers backed it up. The Lakers held the Knicks’ third-ranked offense to 42.7 percent shooting with 19 turnovers, keeping New York 20 points below their season scoring average. The Knicks shot just eight of 34 from three — their fourth-worst three-point performance of the season.
Why This Win Matters for the Lakers
Going into Sunday, the Lakers were 4-12 against teams playing .600 ball or better. The Knicks walked in at 41-24. This was not a soft win.
Redick kept his perspective measured afterward, as he tends to do.
“I’m not in a position where I can overreact,” he said. “We’re 15-9 in our last 24 games. We’re a top-10 offense and a top-15 defense. That’s what we wanted to be coming into this season with this group, and that’s where we are right now.”
James’ absence loomed before tip-off, but Jaxson Hayes spoke for the group when asked about the motivation heading in.
“I just feel like we owed them that one,” Hayes said, referencing a loss at Madison Square Garden last month where the Knicks bullied the Lakers on the boards and outscored them by 14 in the second half.
Sunday was the answer.
Spectrum SportsNet
“Very big win… I feel like we owed them that one.”
Jaxson Hayes (5 PTS, 4 REB, STL) talks to the media after the #Lakers defeat the New York Knicks, winning 110-97. #LakeShow
Final Word for the Lakers
Los Angeles sits fifth in the Western Conference at 39-25, one game behind the third-seeded Houston Rockets. The playoff picture is tightening and the schedule ahead is demanding — four of the next five opponents are the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets, and the Rockets twice.
But Sunday showed something the Lakers have been searching for all season. They can beat a good team with defense, grit, and collective effort when the moment demands it.
Redick called it multiple efforts. His players called it fun.
Either way, it was exactly what Los Angeles needed.