Knicks Beat Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Lakers with LeBron James Suspended
The New York Knicks beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 106-100 on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
New York led by as many as 25 points in the second quarter thanks in large part to Julius Randle, who earned a double-double with 4:21 left before halftime.
However, the Lakers fought back to tie the game at 79 after a Carmelo Anthony dunk late in the third. L.A. point guard Russell Westbrook scored 18 of his game-high 31 points in that quarter en route to a triple-double.
The Knicks bench then keyed a 20-9 fourth-quarter run that featured four Immanuel Quickley three-pointers. The final one gave New York a 105-93 edge with 5:00 left in regulation.
The Knicks only scored one point in the final five minutes, but the Lakers could not take advantage as they missed all seven of their three-pointers. L.A. cut the Knicks' lead to as low as five down the stretch.
The Lakers played without LeBron James, who served his one-game suspension after his altercation with Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart on Sunday.
L.A. listed Anthony Davis as questionable with flu-like symptoms (non-COVID related) pregame, but he suited up and finished with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting and six rebounds in 34 minutes.
The Knicks improved to 10-8. The 9-10 Lakers have lost four of five.
Notable Performances
Lakers PG Russell Westbrook: 31 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists
Lakers F/C Anthony Davis: 20 points, 6 rebounds
Lakers F Carmelo Anthony: 12 points
Knicks G Evan Fournier: 26 points
Knicks F Julius Randle: 20 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists
Knicks G Immanuel Quickley: 14 points
Randle and Fournier Early, Quickley Late Lead Knicks to Win
The Lakers-Knicks game featured four distinct parts.
Part 1 saw the Knicks jump out to a commanding lead thanks in large part to Randle, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists by halftime, and Evan Fournier, who finished with 26 points.
Part 2 featured the Lakers' tremendous comeback, with Westbrook as the star. The point guard did whatever he wanted during that stretch, carving up the previously potent Knicks defense.
The Knicks punched back in Part 3, as the Quickley-led bench stormed out to a 12-point lead.
No one starred in Part 4, as both teams combined for just eight points in the final five minutes.
Randle's dominance in Part 1 gave the Knicks enough cushion to survive the Lakers' second- and third-quarter charges, but New York needed Quickley to bail the team out in the second half to survive.
Randle did a little of everything, finishing at the rim and in mid-range:
He also found his teammates for a quartet of first-half assists, including one to Kemba Walker after some pretty moves:
Meanwhile, Fournier was a walking bucket, ending the first half with 16 points and the game with six three-pointers. He had 11 in the first quarter alone:
Fournier also capped some excellent ball movement with a second-quarter corner three:
The second half was a different story for the Knicks, as the team led just 85-84 early in the fourth.
That wasn't a problem, as Quickley turned a one-possession game into a double-digit lead nearly single-handedly.
He finished off the biggest possession of the night with a cold-blooded three as Malik Monk flew at him in the corner.
The Lakers could have run out on the break after Davis jarred the ball loose from Knicks forward Obi Toppin, but the ball found its way back to the ex-Dayton star, who dished to a ready Quickley for three.
Quickley then put the team on his back, hitting a three in Avery Bradley's face from the top of the key:
The Knicks needed someone to step up off the bench and provide some energy and scoring minus Derrick Rose, who sat with a sprained right ankle. They got it in the form of Quickley, who finished what Randle and Fournier started as the Knicks escaped with the win.
Short-Handed Lakers Can't Make Enough Shots
The Lakers played this game without James and with an under-the-weather Davis. That left it up to Westbrook to take over, and he was the best player on the floor en route to his dominant triple-double.
His 31 points came on an efficient 10-of-18 clip, and after a sloppy first half (five turnovers), Westbrook had just one in the final two frames.
Davis did well all things considered, gutting out 34 minutes as he clearly played at less than 100 percent. The Lakers were still plus-eight with him on the court.
The problem was the rest of the Lakers largely struggled outside a good performance from Avery Bradley (15 points, nine rebounds).
Talen Horton-Tucker, who entered the night averaging 16.0 points per game, finished with none on 0-of-8 shooting in 29 minutes.
Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk each scored 12 points, but they combined to shoot 8-of-28 (3-of-15 three-point range). Wayne Ellington shot just 1-of-3 for four points in 17 minutes.
The Lakers ended up missing all seven of their three-point attempts in the final five minutes. Wide-open chances were there, but the shots did not fall.
They ended up only hitting five field goals in the final quarter, or just one more than the number of Quickley three-pointers in the final 12 minutes. L.A. needed some firepower down the stretch to counteract that display, but the shots didn't fall in MSG as the Lakers fell under .500.
What's Next?
The Knicks will host the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
The Lakers will visit the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Indianapolis' Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
