Knicks, Lakers Reach Historic Milestone

The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers will make history at Madison Square Garden.

Feb 3, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) controls the ball against 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

When the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers go to battle tonight on ABC, it will look like a typical basketball game between two of the most storied franchises in all of sports, but it is still, at the end of the day, just another contest.

That being said, there is some special meaning to the game this evening between the two teams because it will be the 300th time the two teams have faced off against one another.

The two rivals have been going against each other since Nov. 11, 1948 when the Lakers were in Minneapolis as an expansion franchise in the BAA. The Lakers won the game 77-68, which is now a common score in the third quarter of any matchup now.

Since then, the Lakers have won 173 of the first 299 meetings, giving them a win percentage of .579. Tonight, they will go for win No. 174 as they head to Madison Square Garden, where a good chunk of these games have taken place.

The Knicks moved to MSG in 1968, which marks close to the halfway point of this rivalry. The Knicks and Lakers played each other more often in the earlier years of the league because the latter was in Minneapolis and there were fewer teams, meaning there were more opportunities to play against one another.

Now, with the Lakers and Knicks on opposite coasts, they usually only meet twice per season.

They did, however, face off in the NBA Finals three times in a four-year span from 1970-73; the Knicks won two out of the three series, which remains their only championships in franchise history.

The rivalry is renewed tonight at 8:30 p.m. in front of a nationally-televised audience on ABC.

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