LThe Lakers couldn’t count on LeBron James, suspended for a game after his blow to Iasiah Stewart and the ensuing brawl. And they almost ran out of Anthony Davis, too, who arrived at Madison Square Garden just in time after waking up with a fever. Despite everything, he had 20 points and six rebounds. Then they got another bad news: it wasn’t their day, either. They ended up losing 106-100 after coming back 25 points behind. In the previous game they had already raised 17 to beat Detroit.
The Kincks began the clash with a resounding 10-0. The Angelenos had to row from the start. And much more when halfway through the second quarter they saw 54-29. It seemed like another nightmare night, but they held onto Westbrook to stay afloat. The point guard made a triple-double with 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and his team cut to 63-51 at halftime. Carmelo Anthony, applauded at the presentation for his past in the Big Apple, was not fine (12 points on 3/14 shooting).
In the third quarter, the Lakers tied twice: ties at 79 and 81. They were the closest they came to victory. They could not consummate the comeback and the Knicks with Julius Randle (20 points and 16 rebounds) and Evan Fournier (26 points) took off again. Five minutes from the end of the match they had escaped by 12 (93-105).
However, an offensive slug left them nailed to 105 points and the Lakers, with a 0-7 run led by Westbrook, got close to five already in the last minute. It was too much. A free throw by Randle set the final score and the Lakers, awaiting LeBron’s return, lost their fourth game of the last five and were again with a negative balance of 9-10.
