
Not a good night for the Knicks.
OG Anunoby left the game with a non-contact injury to his foot near the beginning of the 3rd quarter with the Knicks down by 5 points. After that, Laker Defense, LeBron James, and Austin Reeves proved too much for NY as the Lakers won the game down the stretch, 128-112 on a Cold (23 degrees) Saturday night in NYC — an 8:30pm start for the game broadcast nationally.
The Lakers were without Anthony Davis, presumably due to injury, but an hour after the game ended everyone found out the real reason why — the Lakers traded Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic!
Afterwards, coach Tom Thibodeau said that OG had hurt his foot late in the first half.
“It’s always special coming into this building, we know that,” said LeBron James afterwards. “It’s the mecca of basketball. It’s probably the greatest basketball arena in the world.”
According to ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, “LeBron James learned of the Davis-Doncic trade after the Knicks game when it broke while he was out to dinner with his family, sources close to James told ESPN. James was surprised by the news, is processing it and had no idea it was in the works, sources said.”
NY drops to 32-17; the Lakers improve to 28-19.
1. Laker Defense Thwarts KAT & Brunson
The Lakers are coached by JJ Redick — a rookie coach but he didn’t look it on this night. With Anthony Davis out, presumably due to injury — the Lakers played a tremendous defensive game against the Knicks all night — bottling up the middle and hounding Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson.
KAT finished with only 11 pts on 3-12 shooting (1-2 from 3) with 6 rebounds in 35 minutes. Brunson had only 17 pts on 7-18 shooting (0-2 from 3) in 40 minutes.
The Lakers without Anthony Davis were playing a manic brand of defense — with LeBron, Jaxson Hayes, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith giving the Knicks a hard time inside, diminishing the Knick energy.
The Knicks couldn’t get any spacing all night, and their ball movement was flat. Even still, Brunson got to the hole many times on the night, only to have his shot roll in and out.
2. OG Goes Out Near Start of 3rd
And then just when the Knicks seemed to be launching energy at the start of the 3rd, OG Anunoby, guarded by LeBron, received a pass on the left baseline and passed the ball back out — going down and clutching his leg. OG went out with what was called a sprained foot — XRays negative.
OG Anunoby was diagnosed with a right foot sprain. The major concern would be if it’s a “mid foot sprain”
Best case scenario: mild foot sprain
Worst case scenario: Lisfranc injury pic.twitter.com/NPajGY9YI4
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) February 2, 2025
3. Reeves Kills NY in 3rd
With OG out NY continued to try to take control of the game in the 3rd — with Brunson, Precious Achiuwa, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride leading the charge — but everything NY did was thwarted by Austin Reeves, who went nuts.
Reeves finished with 27 pts on 7-12 shooting (4-7 from 3, 9-9 in free throws).
4. Knicks Down 5 Pts Most of 2nd Half
NY was down by 5 throughout most of the 3rd — but a Josh Hart heave from near midcourt at the buzzer went in and NY was down by 2 entering the 4th — 91-89.
Then banks in the buzzer-beating triple heading into the 4th! 🚨
18p, 12r, 10a for Hart 📊 https://t.co/US0nGdJ5my pic.twitter.com/vVMu1LdJCz
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2025
But Max Christie began the 4th with a 3 and LA was up by 5 again.
Jalen Brunson tried to put NY on his back with a number of drives, but the Lakers unsung heroes answered — Jaxson Hayes with a dunk, Rui Hachimura with a bucket inside, and Max Christie with a drive-and-1.
Then Gabe Vincent hit back-to-back 3’s and LA was up 12 with 8 minutes left, 109-97.
5. Knicks Couldn’t Hit Enough Shots; Lakers Did
The Knicks just didn’t hit enough jumpers on the night to free up the Laker interior defense. A lot of NY shots rimmed in and out. The Lakers hit their 3 — helped by LeBron James who was hunting out shooters when Knicks switched onto him, and hitting them with passes for open looks.
The Knicks shot 10-28 from 3 (35 percent); the Lakers were 19-40 (47 percent).
Josh Hart was one of the few Knicks with the Knack on the night — 26 pts on 11-16 shooting (although 1-5 from 3) and Mikal Bridges had 16 points on 7-14 shooting.
Hart lost it, got it back, and got the shot up all in the air 👀
LAL/NYK on ABC pic.twitter.com/UArqx8DfEE
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2025
Precious Achiuwa played well for NY: 15 pts on 6-12 shooting with 15 rebounds in 29 minutes due to OG’s injury.
Josh Hart dimes to Achiuwa for his 7th triple-double of the season!
Lakers/Knicks battling on ABC 🍿 pic.twitter.com/jLbv17HhU7
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2025
6. LeBron Kills NY Down Stretch
A Josh Hart drive for free throws and a Mikal Bridges 3 pulled NY back to within 7 pts with 7:21 left — but LeBron James dunked to push NY back to 9 down. Hart responded with a drive for a dunk, but LeBron hit a 3, then fed Christie for a drive inside and NY was down 12 with 5 minutes left.
“This is 40!”
“I caught my 2nd wind when I woke up this morning.”
– @KingJames 👑 pic.twitter.com/Ae8gQx0jmF
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2025
Brunson and Josh Hart furiously tried to get NY back in the game — a floater by Brunson, and two drives by Hart — but LA had answers: Dorian Finney-Smith with a 3, and LeBron feeding Hachimura for a dunk for a 16-pt Laker lead with 2 minutes left and ballgame.
Thibs pulled the starters with 2 minutes left.
And then an hour after the game, LA announced the trade of Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a #1 pick for Luka Doncic.
Be the first to comment