On Saturday night, LeBron James and the Lakers made their only visit of the season, and stars were shining everywhere you looked, both on Celebrity Row and on the court.
But mostly, the capacity crowd once again came to watch and cheer on the hottest teams in the NBA and New York sports.
Jalen Brunson, who was selected as an All-Star for the first time, was unable to lead the undermanned Knicks to a 10-game winning streak, but lost a 113-105 decision to James’ Tinseltown team in a nationally televised showcase game on MSG. suffered.
Brunson had a game-high 36 points and 10 assists, making him the ninth game in his last 11 games with 30 or more points, but the Knicks are 15-3 since Jan. 1 and 32 overall. They fell to 1.5 games behind with 18 wins and losses. They finished second in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs behind the Bucks, who won the game.
“We know where we are and we have to feel the same way every night,” Brunson said before the game. “We need to go out there and be better than we were the day before. So my mindset is that no matter where we are in the standings or how many winning streaks we have, we want to get better every time we step on the court.
“So records, rankings and accolades all change the way we think.”
Donte DiVincenzo sank six more 3-pointers on 16 attempts for 26 points, and Josh Hart returned to the Knicks without injured players Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Quentin Grimes. He contributed with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
James finished with 24 points, mostly protected by Precious Achiuwa, but fellow All-Star Anthony Davis, who missed Thursday’s game, had 11 rebounds, 19 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Lakers (26-25). and returned to the battlefield. In Boston.
Before the game, James called Brunson “phenomenal,” adding that the 20-time All-Star was “very happy and very proud” of the Knicks’ point guard to receive his well-deserved first All-Star selection.
There were quite a few LeBron/Lakers fans in attendance when James’ dunk in the opening minutes drew loud applause, followed by Davis and Rui Hachimura’s two-handed shot and spin move to the hoop. I knew right away. Written by James.
The Knicks missed their first seven 3-pointers until DiVincenzo’s triple with 3:24 left in the period, but the Lakers went up to 27-1 with 12 points from D’Angelo Russell and a score from Davis. He maintained a lead of 25. The quarter has his 10 boards.
The Knicks missed 12 of 17 long-range shots in the first half, but DiVincenzo’s third trey of the game with 1:02 left in the second quarter tied the Knicks, making it 59-59 after the break. It became. Brunson finished the first half with 17 points and James scored 12 points.
DiVincenzo hit another 3-pointer and scored seven points in a 12-5 spurt to take the lead in the third set, before Isaiah Hartenstein drove the lane for a huge slam that ended the quarter at 76-7. He gained an advantage of 70.
Still, Davis fended off consecutive drives from Hart and Brunson, and the Lakers got within one on two free throws from Austin Reeves (22 points), but Reeves collided with James at the basket after being fouled by DiVincenzo. did.
Miles McBride makes a classic 3-point play, Achiuwa adds a driving wicket, and Brunson makes his first 3-point shot of the game late in the quarter, giving the Knicks an 86-80 advantage going into the final period. did.
James sank two fallaway jumpers in a 9-0 LA spurt to open the fourth for a three-point lead, before Brunson drove and kicked out to Hart for the game-tying trey from the right corner.
Brunson sank two free throws to put the Knicks ahead, and the “MVP” chants were heard again, but Taurean Prince scored six straight points to give the Lakers a 100-96 lead with less than six minutes left. did.
The Lakers double-teamed Brunson on the Knicks’ open possession, and a corner 3 from Reaves and a baseline jumper from James gave them a nine-point lead with 1:54 left.
