Missing the golden opportunity to promote, the Los Angeles Lakers are stuck in 9th place in the West
Despite having the home advantage against the New York Knicks (39-30), but the Los Angeles Lakers (33-34) could not take advantage, and had an unfortunate time at the beginning of the 4th half and had to admit defeat. with the final score 108-112.
Before entering the match today (March 13), the Lakers have a chance to get close to the Playoffs if they get a win. They are 9th in the Western rankings but only 1.5 games away from 6th place of the Golden State Warriors.
More good news appeared for the Crypto.com home team when the No. 1 New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson was injured, helping to balance the game because the Lakers were also absent from LeBron James.
Having so many advantages, coach Darvin Ham's teachers and students were unable to maintain the sublimation gained from the previous three-match unbeaten streak. The Los Angeles Lakers struggled a bit when they couldn't make a breakthrough in points compared to the Knicks, and also missed too many opportunities on the free throw line.
If Anthony Davis and his teammates used to throw 19-19 FT (100% rate) in the win over the Toronto Raptors over the weekend, today, they only have 10-17 FT with a 58.8% success rate.
In a game where the two sides are almost the same on all stats such as finishing performance, with only 1 FGM and 1 3-point difference for the whole match, it was the free throws that were considered "free points" that created the difference.
Another notable point is that the Los Angeles Lakers lost 9 rebounds to the New York Knicks (37 vs 46), an aspect where they are inherently strong compared to their opponents in the NBA.
D'Angelo Russell maintained excellent form with 33 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 block. Following the 28-point match against Toronto, Russell today had 6 3-pointers to once again be the highest scorer for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Anthony Davis is right behind with 17 points, 16 assists, 4 assists and 2 steals. It's hard to say this was a bad game for AD (though he only had 1-5 FT, one of the worst free throws of his career), but he personally took responsibility for the defeat.
“This loss is on me. I personally feel like I have to do better and contribute more. I played so bad," Davis said in a quick interview after the game.
With this result, the New York Knicks broke the Los Angeles Lakers' 3-match unbeaten streak and simultaneously cut their own 3-game losing streak.
The Knicks did not completely control the game and spent most of the time chasing the Lakers. But from a surprise 13-3 run at the start of the fourth half, they had a secure enough advantage to withstand the opponent's upstream effort late in the game.
On the day without Jalen Brunson, former Lakers player Julius Randle shone with 33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. RJ Barrett is right behind with 30 points, including 20 scored in the second half.
In the next game, the New York Knicks will be back at home to host the Portland Trail Blazers. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers will be visiting the yard of the New Orleans Pelicans. Both matches will take place on Wednesday morning (March 15).
