Multiple Authors
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers were missing one of their best players and beat one of the league’s best teams in Sunday’s 110-97 win over the New York Knicks.
LeBron James was a late scratch because of a left elbow contusion and arthritis in his left foot, but L.A.’s team defense, combined with offensive outbursts from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, gave the Lakers control of the game.
L.A. held the NBA’s No. 3 offense to just 42.7% with 19 turnovers — and 20 points below the Knicks’ season scoring average.
“We definitely need to be a better defensive team, and I think we’re showing that we can do it,” Doncic said.
Lakers coach JJ Redick said the team defense was apparent in the multiple efforts made by his players on each possession and in the way Doncic, Reaves and Marcus Smart stood in harm’s way to take a charge against Knicks players driving to the hoop.
“That’s a sacrificial play,” Redick said. “You got to put your body on the line. Our guys have been motivated to do that all year.”
On the other end, Doncic led all scorers with 35 points to go with eight rebounds and two steals, and Reaves contributed 25 points, five assists and three steals. It was just the third time Reaves topped the 20-point plateau since returning from a left calf strain in early February.
“When I got here … just told myself to have fun,” Reaves said. “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 together without James.
“It’s just great being his teammate,” Doncic said 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, just playing with him, it makes my life easy.”
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 team missing Nikola Jokic.
But they never trailed against a Knicks team that is 41-24 and just beat the Nuggets, with Jokic, 142-103 on Friday.
“We kind of took it personal, I think, and then we got this dub,” said Rui Hachimura, who scored 13 points starting in place of James. “So, that was a great team win.”
There is more stiff competition upcoming for the Lakers with four of their next five opponents on the schedule being the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets and the Houston Rockets twice.
Time will tell if the win over the Knicks is a sign that L.A. is ready to run that gauntlet.
“I’m not in a position where I can overreact,” Redick said. “You guys [in the media] do that. The fans, rightfully so, should always overreact. It’s what makes fandom so awesome. … My job is not to overreact. We’re 15-9 in our last 24. We’re a top-10 offense and a top-15 defense. That’s what we wanted to be coming into the season with this group, and that’s where our group is right now.”
