Four Takeaways From The Lakers' 100-92 Win Over Knicks
The Lakers beat the New York Knicks on Wednesday, 100-92, improving to an NBA-best 19-4 on the road.
Here are our four takeaways from the game.
1. Anthony Davis found his rhythm
Davis had a game-high 28 points on seven-for-14 shooting, five rebounds and five assists against the Knicks. He was sent to the free-throw-line 13 times, and made all 13 shots.
It was an impressive display for Davis, who had missed five-straight games because of a gluteus maximus contusion and then had a subpar performance in his return against Boston on Monday, finishing with just nine points on three-for-seven shooting, four rebounds, two turnovers and five fouls in the Lakers' 32-point loss to the Celtics.
Davis was much more aggressive against the Knicks, and his perfect performance from the charity stripe is what made the difference in Wednesday's game.
2. LeBron James had quite a first half
James scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half, making eight of his 10 field goal attempts over the period. He's now only 44 points shy of Kobe Bryant's 33,643 points for third place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
The Lakers play Brooklyn on Thursday and Philadelphia on Saturday, likely setting James up to hit that milestone on this road trip.
3. It wasn't a stellar performance for the Lakers
The Lakers didn't exactly blow out the Knicks, who entered Wednesday's game only having won six of their 15 home games and 5-12 against Western Conference opponents.
The game was tied at halftime, 48-48. The Lakers, who lacked energy and seemed a bit out of sorts in the first half, held the Knicks to 29.2% shooting in the third quarter to enter the fourth with a six-point lead. 76-70.
The Lakers then opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run that included a dunk by Dwight Howard, a three-pointer by Rajon Rondo and a driving layup by Kyle Kuzma to extend their lead to 83-70 with 10 minutes and 22 seconds left.
The Knicks cut their hole to six points, but the Lakers held on for the win.
4. Two games left
The Lakers are 2-1 on their five-game trip, having beaten Houston (124-115) and New York, while suffering their worst loss of the season to Boston on Monday, 139-107.
The Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference at 35-9.
