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Dave McMenamin, ESPN writer
NEW YORK – The Los Angeles Lakers began Saturday night’s game with a new look, starting Rui Hachimura over Taurean Prince, and finished it with ferocious defense to beat the Knicks 113-105, snapping their nine-game winning streak. from New York.
The Knicks, playing without Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Quentin Grimes, held an 86-80 lead after three quarters before the Los Angeles defense stepped up to close the scoring.
The Lakers held the Knicks to 19 points in the quarter (including just 10 points in the first 11 minutes, before New York began fouling to extend the game) to validate their upset over the Boston Celtics on Thursday with another big effort.
“It’s great when the Knicks are winning and you can come here and play competitive basketball at the highest level,” said LeBron James, who led Los Angeles with 24 points and played nearly 55 seconds of the second half. “Where every possession means something, especially in the fourth quarter. And being able to make some plays in the fourth quarter to turn the tide.”
“It’s something that feels great.”
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 36 points, but was held to just 4-of-9 shooting plus two fourth-quarter turnovers as Los Angeles repeatedly attacked pick-and-rolls to send him two defenders.
“I mean, they just sent two defenders every time there was some action,” Brunson said. “I was trying to avoid it or just hitting the rolling man to make the play, repositioning myself and finding a way to still be impactful. I think we made good plays all game, but not enough.”
Anthony Davis, despite scoring just 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting, was all over the court defensively, finishing with 18 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Two of those blocks came on the same Knicks possession late in the third quarter when he crushed Josh Hart and then Brunson in a matter of seconds, starting a fast break for the Lakers that ended with two free throws by Austin Reaves, who scored 22 points. .
“Shot blocking was a factor,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “AD played a great game without having many points; LeBron did too. Those guys read the game. LeBron played 41 minutes. You have to give him credit; he’s in that kind of shape. Davis is a burden to deal with.”
The Lakers, who are concerned that Jarred Vanderbilt’s right foot injury could cost him the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, believe a consistent defensive effort even without Vanderbilt will give them the best chance of moving down the stretch. it’s from the season.
“Honestly, losing one of our biggest defensive presences is tough, but guys have to step up and accept the challenge,” Davis said. “I think any one-on-one matchup you have to take personally. That’s how you get better: take it personally.”
Hachimura scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and four rebounds with the starters, and Prince led Los Angeles’ bench scorers with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. It was one of 15 starting lineups Lakers coach Darvin Ham has used this season and he expects it to stick going forward.
“I’m very hopeful,” Ham said. “Of those 15 different ones, three have been deliberate and not (due to) unforeseen circumstances. So, yeah. That’s definitely the plan.”
Los Angeles is 3-2 on its six-game road trip and will close it out on Monday against the Charlotte Hornets.
“We’re just trying to get to a place where we play the type of basketball that we envision, the type of basketball that we know we’re capable of doing,” Ham said. “And defend at a very, very high level.”
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.