Fans Need Popcorn for Knicks, Lakers Game

The New York Knicks have an intriguing matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Feb 3, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) grabs Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks host the Los Angeles Lakers in their annual trip to Madison Square Garden tonight.

It's a big game for both teams looking to keep pace in their own respective conferences.

The high stakes attached to the game make it one of the biggest matchups of the week in the NBA according to The Athletic writer Steven Louis Goldstein.

"Saturday’s marquee matchup puts James on center court of “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” He’s been overwhelmingly successful on that floor: a 23-9 record, with two of his 14 career 50-point games. In his tribute to the audacious Angeleno Kendrick Lamar, James made an outsider’s claim as King of New York following 2017’s raucous Gardening session. He hits the weekend action having won three straight in New York," Goldstein writes.

"Though this biannual meeting is almost exclusively on national TV, it’s been a long while since the two sides had sustained and concurrent excellence. Los Angeles leads the all-time regular season series, 173-126, but the Knicks’ two championships came at the expense of the early ’70s Lakers. Saturday marks the 300th official meeting between these two."

However, this time, both the Knicks and Lakers are above .500 with good chances to make some noise in the playoffs.

The matchup loses a little bit of intrigue with Anthony Davis ruled out with an abdominal muscle strain, but the Lakers provide a tough matchup against the Knicks regardless.

New York's offense has been unstoppable as of late, so losing Davis is a massive crushing blow for the Lakers. They will have to find alternative ways to stop Karl-Anthony Towns in the post if they want to keep their winning streak in the Garden alive.

Tipoff for tonight's game is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ABC.

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