Yesterday, the Los Angeles Lakers went into Madison Square Garden after a 31-point win over the Washington Wizards, looking to continue their momentum on their east coast road trip.
The Lakers started off the first quarter playing extremely well as a team, with center Deandre Ayton getting lots of lobs and dump off passes fed to him by guard Luka Doncic and forward LeBron James who are both excellent passers. At the end of the first quarter the score was 33-27 with the Lakers ahead, but in the second quarter, the Knicks role players started heating up.
Second year guard Tyler Kolek out of Marquette has provided a spark for New York off the bench this season, and this game was no different. He quickly rattled off eight points in the quarter and his ability as a playmaker and facilitator, has been a tremendous help for the Knicks. Veteran guards Laundry Shamet and Josh Hart were also big in this quarter helping close the lead of the Lakers to only four points at the half. Ayton and Doncic were the main factors that kept Los Angeles ahead going into the half with Ayton being a perfect 5-5 from the field with 11 points and four rebounds.
In the third, Knicks forward OG Aunoby took over on both sides of the ball. Aunoby has widely been regarded as one of the best defenders in the league for years, and putting him on Luka Doncic was a smart adjustment by head coach Mike Brown. He was able to get some key steals which led to fast breaks and knock down threes on the offensive end which has been a developing part of his game.
For the Lakers, forward Rui Hachimura was solid in the third, hitting some tough mid-range shots to keep the Lakers in the game. Los Angeles usually struggles staying locked in defensively for the entire game, which has driven head coach JJ Reddick past his breaking point. The Lakers have all of the starpower to win big games, but if they can’t compete defensively for four quarters, they won’t be able to win all of them.
In the fourth quarter, it was all New York, as they out-hustled and shared the ball much more efficiently than the Lakers. Wing Laundry Shamet finished the game with 23 points, which was a much needed performance with star guard Jalen Brunson only notching 12. The Knicks look good this season, and with the capability of beating good teams like the Lakers even when their stars aren’t performing well.
For the Lakers, the talent is there, but solely relying on Luka Doncic to score 30-plus points every game is not a sustainable strategy to win. They need to improve defensively and wait for star guard Austin Reaves to return from injury which will help them in their coming games. It is most likely LeBron’s last year and it would be a disappointing end to his legendary career if the Lakers weren’t able to make a successful postseason run.
The Lakers head to Brooklyn to face the Nets for their final stint on their roadtrip, where they look to return home successful and trending in a positive direction.