The Los Angeles Lakers headed into Sunday’s contest against the New York Knicks with some wind at their backs. They had won eight of their last 11 games despite being short-handed for most of them.
They built an early lead behind some hot shooting from D’Angelo Russell, but the Knicks fought back and made the game very competitive throughout the second and third quarters.
In the final period, L.A.’s offense went flat. New York kept the Lakers on the perimeter and out of transition, and the result was a 112-108 loss for the Purple and Gold.
The Lakers lost this game on the boards. They were outrebounded, 46-37, and gave up 14 second-chance points as well as 56 points in the paint. The Knicks’ frontcourt trio of Julius Randle (33 points), Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein (10 rebounds) was simply too much.
The loss dropped Los Angeles from ninth place to 11th place in the Western Conference. It will head out for a two-game road trip, which will start on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans, who have the same record as the Lakers, 33-35.