A combination of poor shooting and a third quarter explosion by Carmelo Anthony led to the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the New York Knicks, 92-80.
The Lakers shot 35.5 percent from the field, as they were unable to find any offensive rhythm after their impressive outing against the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks weren’t too stellar, but they still shot a respectable 44.0 percent.
The Knicks led wire to wire as they started the first quarter on fire, leading 32-19, but cooled down in the second quarter. New York still held an eight-point advantage heading into intermission.
In the third period, Derek Fisher’s team pulled away completely much thanks to Carmelo Anthony who scored 18 of his game-high 31 points in the quarter to bolster the lead to 17. Anthony added eight rebounds and two assists to his point total while shooting 13 of 25 from the field. The highlight of the game was when he received an alley-oop pass from Jason Smith and dunked it with one hand over Wesley Johnson.
After the game, Anthony had this to say about the alley-oop finish. “I had to look at the bench and let them know I still got it.”
The Lakers were unable to recover in the final stanza, resulting into the loss. However, the only bright spot for the Lakers was that they received terrific production from their bench. Led by Carlos Boozer’s 19 points, the bench accounted for 45 of the team’s 80 points. Wesley Johnson put in 11 points and five rebounds, while Ed Davis posted nine points, five boards, and four assists.
Nick Young was available to play in this one, but Byron Scott chose not to insert him into the game, as he feels Young is not quite ready for game action. Young was upset for not seeing the floor, though.
“It’s not my decision,” Young said.
Jordan Clarkson was the only starter to score double-figures with 19 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals. He continues his amazing feat as the starting point guard.
The injury bug continued for the Lakers in this game, as Jordan Hill left early in the first quarter with a strained right quad and did not return. In his absence, Tarik Black finally got some play time, putting in just two points and four rebounds in 18 minutes. After the contest, Byron Scott addressed the media to discuss Hill’s injury.
“I don’t know anything, to be honest with you,” Scott said. “I talked to Gary (Vitti) briefly, but I haven’t talked to him since then, he just said at that particular time that (Hill) was out for the game.
Jordan didn’t even know how it happened. He just said he started feeling something. I asked him did he hear anything pop or anything like that, he said, ‘No, but it feels like it’s about to pop.’ (He) went in (to the locker room)…and Gary said he was done for the game,” Scott added.
Hill has been the heart and soul of this Laker team all season long and losing him could hurt even more. If he is out for an extended period of time, then Tarik Black should see an increase in minutes like he did today.
For the Knicks, outside of Anthony, only one other player was in double-figures scoring which was Langston Galloway. The 23-year-old undrafted rookie scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds.
The game was slow paced, as each team had only five fast break points and combined for 25 total turnovers. The Lakers won the rebounding battle, 46-41, and points in the paint, 28-22.
The Lakers have now lost 10 out of the last 11 games, as they drop to 13-35. The Knicks have found some rhythm, winning the last five out of seven games while improving to 10-38 on the season.
The Lakers’ short Grammy trip continues Wednesday night in Milwaukee, as they face off against the Bucks. The Knicks stay home to host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, February 3rd.