Kristaps Porzingis Powers Knicks Past Lonzo Ball, Lakers
All the stars came out for Lonzo Ball's Madison Square Garden debut Tuesday night, and he didn't disappoint. But unfortunately for the Lakers, Kristaps Porzingis gave them a firsthand look at the foundational star they passed up in 2015.
Porzingis had 37 points and 11 rebounds and Enes Kanter had a double-double, as the New York Knicks left with a 113-109 overtime win over the Lakers to spoil Ball's debut at the mecca of basketball.
Ball finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists in one of his best performances of his rookie season. He fell shy of a triple-double but he shot 6-of-13 from the field. He has not shot above 50 percent in a game since Nov. 11.
Ball's younger brothers, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball, attended Tuesday's game. They were making their first public appearance since they signed with Lithuanian club Prienu Vytautas on Monday.
While speaking to reporters prior to Tuesday's game, Lakers head coach Luke Walton said the following about Lonzo:
"Obviously, with how big he is and the social media that exists, everything he does gets scrutinized by everybody and I think he's handled himself very well. I think it helps his teammates all love playing with him and his coaches all love working with him. He's just one of those guys that's really nice to have around. When he's able to stay focused on what's most important and what we're trying to do on the basketball court and not let the outside noise influence his head and his mindset, that's a good quality to have for a professional athlete."
The Lakers had six players in double figures, led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 24. Kyle Kuzma (19 points), Julius Randle (13 points) and Jordan Clarkson (12 points) each were in double figures off the bench.
Their all-around team effort was almost single-handedly undone by Porzingis, who has scored 30-plus points in 10 games this season, including each of the last two. He set a season high with five makes from three-point range and shot 14-of-26 from the floor overall. ESPN.com's Ian Begley noted Porzingis is the first Knick with 35 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks since Patrick Ewing in 1996.
Before the game, Porzingis compared and contrasted his experience with Ball's.
"I think for everybody is different. For me, I just didn't care. My brothers say all the time that I'm just too dumb to know what's going on. I don't really care what's going on in the outside. I wasn't bothered by the boos at all when I got drafted. I was happy. For everybody it's different. I think that's a good quality that I have that I don't really give a [expletive]."
Michael Beasley and Frank Ntilikina scored 13 points apiece off the bench for the Knicks. Beasley scored six of his points and assisted on a Doug McDermott layup in the overtime period. McDermott and Courtney Lee each scored 10 points to round out double-figure scorers for New York.
The Knicks have won three of their last four games and have a 13-5 record at home this season. They'll look to improve their 1-8 road record Thursday night when they play the crosstown Nets.
The Lakers travel to Cleveland to play the Cavaliers on Thursday.
