Dave McMenamin
Multiple Authors
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers had been lacking one among their greatest gamers and beat one of many league’s greatest groups in Sunday’s 110-97 win over the New York Knicks.
LeBron James was a late scratch due to a left elbow contusion and arthritis in his left foot, however L.A.’s workforce protection, mixed with offensive outbursts from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, gave the Lakers management of the sport.
L.A. held the NBA’s No. 3 offense to simply 42.7% with 19 turnovers — and 20 factors beneath the Knicks’ season scoring common.
“We definitely need to be a better defensive team, and I think we’re showing that we can do it,” Doncic stated.
Lakers coach JJ Redick stated the workforce protection was obvious within the a number of efforts made by his gamers on every possession and in the way in which Doncic, Reaves and Marcus Smart stood in hurt’s solution to take a cost towards Knicks gamers driving to the ring.
“That’s a sacrificial play,” Redick stated. “You got to put your body on the line. Our guys have been motivated to do that all year.”
On the opposite finish, Doncic led all scorers with 35 factors to go along with eight rebounds and two steals, and Reaves contributed 25 factors, 5 assists and three steals. It was simply the third time Reaves topped the 20-point plateau since getting back from a left calf pressure in early February.
“When I got here … just told myself to have fun,” Reaves stated. “I don’t feel like I’ve played bad [recently]. I just haven’t made a lot of shots, and I feel like I’ve done a lot of other things well.”
The Lakers improved to 9-2 this season when Reaves and Doncic play collectively with out James.
“It’s just great being his teammate,” Doncic stated of Reaves. “Obviously, he needs to be aggressive like this, but just playing with him is so easy because he draws so much attention, helps others too.
“So, simply enjoying with him, it makes my life straightforward.”
Sunday was also a rare positive showing for the Lakers against hard competition.
They had been just 4-12 against teams that currently have a .600 winning percentage or better — with one of those wins coming against a Denver Nuggets workforce lacking Nikola Jokic.
But they by no means trailed towards a Knicks workforce that’s 41-24 and simply beat the Nuggets, with Jokic, 142-103 on Friday.
“We sort of took it private, I believe, after which we obtained this dub,” stated Rui Hachimura, who scored 13 factors beginning rather than James. “So, that was a terrific workforce win.”
There is extra stiff competitors upcoming for the Lakers with 4 of their subsequent 5 opponents on the schedule being the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets and the Houston Rockets twice.
Time will inform if the win over the Knicks is an indication that L.A. is able to run that gauntlet.
“I’m not able the place I can overreact,” Redick said. “You guys [in the media] do this. The followers, rightfully so, ought to at all times overreact. It’s what makes fandom so superior. … My job is to not overreact. We’re 15-9 in our final 24. We’re a top-10 offense and a top-15 protection. That’s what we needed to be coming into the season with this group, and that is the place our group is correct now.”
