The second game of a Los Angeles double-header ended in a dramatic 90-87 victory for the New York Knicks over the Lakers.
Advertisement
But for Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, Knicks fans need not worry and just keep their faith in Jackson because he believes the Hall of Famer knows what he is doing in NY.
It was a busted play that led to the winning shot for the New York Knicks, and Jose Calderon turned out to be the right guy in the right spot. “Just because a team has a bad record – and you have everything to play for – they didn’t just wake up this morning and say: ‘Let’s lose'”.
Bryant would square off against his close friend Carmelo Anthony, whom Lakers coach Byron Scott called “the most gifted offensive player I’ve seen in a long time”.
Putting aside the fact that until the final minutes Sunday’s game was a total snoozer, Anthony relished his final matchup with Bryant as much as Bryant seemed to with him.
However, the a replenished Lakers’ bench came into the game and flipped the script. Entering the fourth quarter, Lou Williams, Marcelo Huertas, Larry Nance Jr. and Brandon Bass had fueled a Lakers’ comeback that had LA only trailing by five points. The fourth quarter featured a couple of ties and four lead changes.
“Just one of those nights for us”, Clarkson said. Under Jackson, Bryant won five championships and made seven Finals appearances, teaming with Shaquille O’Neal to win a three-peat from ’00-02 and then leading Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. 2 seconds remaining on the clock. The Lakers only scored 11 points in the first quarter and trailed by 11 points at the halftime intermission.
J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving added 17 points each and Channing Frye had 15 on a season-high-tying five 3-pointers for the Eastern Conference leaders.
NY held a 46-35 lead at the break, taking advantage of Los Angeles’ struggles offensively in the first half.
The Lakers managed 15.8 percent shooting in the first quarter to 35 percent for the Knicks as NY held an 18-11 edge after one quarter. It marked his lowest scoring output since January 28, when he had three points against the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers had a combined 16-13 record in those games against the Knicks and Denver Nuggets.
Knicks rookie forward Kristaps Porzingis sat out the contest with a stomach ailment.
Advertisement
The Knicks, who were coming off a 129-97 rout at Phoenix, were missing Arron Afflalo for the second straight game because of a strained abdominal muscle and fell to 27-40. Hueras finished with nine points and two assists. With help from Hall of Famer James Worthy, a former Laker, F Julius Randle continues to show improvement offensively. Anthony collected his 22nd double-double of the season as he finished the game with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists. DeMarcus Cousins had 31 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento in his return from being suspended for one game by the team. “The one thing about it is he’s willing to (work on his game).”…
