One of the most high-profile matchups of the season took place tonight, as the New York Knicks hosted the Los Angeles Lakers in the iconic Madison Square Garden. The most expensive regular season game of the season ended in LA’s favor 128-112, as they executed an impressive win without Anthony Davis.
LeBron James was the master behind the win, adding another iconic MSG performance to his resume. He had 33 points (14-26 FG), 11 rebounds, and 12 assists to lead the Lakers. Austin Reaves contributed 27 points (7-12 FG) and six assists while Rui Hachimura had 21 points (8-12 FG). Max Christie had an impressive 15 points (6-10 FG) while Dorian Finney-Smith came off the bench for 15 points (5-6 FG) as well.
The misfiring Knicks had Josh Hart notch a triple-double with 26 points (11-16 FG), 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Their other stars disappointed with Jalen Brunson scoring 17 points (7-18 FG), Mikal Bridges putting up 16 points (7-14 FG), and Precious Achuiwa putting up 15 points (6-12 FG) and 15 rebounds off the bench. OG Anunoby had 13 points (5-7 FG) before leaving the game with an injury in the first half.
Let’s take a deeper look at this game and analyze the major takeaways.
Motivated LeBron James Is Still Unstoppable
The biggest takeaway from this game is to never count out LeBron Raymore James Sr. Many people were expecting a comprehensive Knicks win tonight due to the Lakers being without Anthony Davis while the Knicks have one of the best-scoring starting fives in the NBA. LeBron embraced the challenge on both ends of the court and had one of his best games of the season in an incredibly impressive win.
His full stat line reads 33 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists, and five turnovers on 14-26 shooting from the field, 3-8 shooting from three, and 2-4 shooting from the free throw line. He ended the night as a +12 and carried the Lakers offensively through his scoring and pinpoint playmaking. This is what James is still capable of at 40 years old, which is absolutely mind-boggling given the miles on his body.
We won’t see this version of LeBron consistently in the regular season anymore, it simply isn’t possible with issues of fatigue that have started creeping in for James. However, this is a glimpse into what a version of Playoff LeBron could look like now that the Lakers are solidifying their status as a Playoff team.
A Shooting Night The Lakers Can’t Replicate
The Lakers had one of their best shooting nights of the season in a game where almost everyone was automatic from the field. The only Laker to shoot under 50% was Dalton Knecht, who went 1-3 from the field. Everybody else was a positive shooter on the night, as the Lakers combined to go 47-81 (58.0 FG%) from the field. The shooting accuracy extended to the three-point line, with the team going 19-40 (47.5 3P%).
There was an ease to the Lakers’ offense tonight, with the ball zipping around the court and making it hard for the excellent defenders on the Knicks to impact their shots much. There was also really strong shot-making and consistent attacks to the rim, exposing Karl-Anthony Towns defensively as the center had an overall rough night.
This can’t be the norm for the Lakers, who have been among the most inconsistent offenses in the NBA this season. The fact that all of this happened without Anthony Davis’ gravity opening up open corner opportunities is also a major factor. It seems the roster woke up for a clash at the iconic Madison Square Garden before comprehensively outplaying title contenders like the Knicks.
Need For A Center Is Still Clear
The Lakers have a lot of reasons to be proud of how they played tonight. But this doesn’t change the fact that the team desperately needs a center to join this roster. Jaxson Hayes started in place of Anthony Davis but only tallied 21 minutes of action as JJ Redick went to multiple different options at the five.
We saw Jarred Vanderbilt and Dorian Finney-Smith run small-ball five positions, which wound up working well due to the overall three-point efficiency of the team tonight. This is a solid counter-option for when Davis isn’t there or when matchups dictate it, but the Lakers need a more permanent solution to their big-man troubles. Relying only on Davis at the spot is risky business and it should be a priority to address this.
Hayes had just two rebounds in his minutes, with the Lakers getting great production from Jarred Vanderbilt who pulled down eight rebounds in under 14 minutes of action. They have options for a backup five but the addition of a low-cost and low-maintenance five as an upgrade over Hayes should be the team’s priority in the next week.
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