LOS ANGELES — The surging Los Angeles Lakers lost 112-108 to the New York Knicks on Sunday, and Anthony Davis blamed himself for stalling momentum as his team missed a chance to get back to .500 for the first time since its opening weekend. Lost it. The season schedule at 0–0.
When asked the reason for the loss, Davis said, “My game.” “I played terribly. Didn’t get my shot: free throws, layups, everything. The guys did their job. I didn’t do my job tonight.”
Davis finished with 17 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block, but he missed 10 of his 18 field goal attempts and four of five free throw attempts.
In the fourth quarter, when New York shut out Los Angeles 27–22 after Jalen Brunson was sidelined with a left foot injury, Davis was just 1-for-4 from the field in nine minutes.
“It’s on everybody,” said Lakers guard Dennis Schroder. “When we lose, we lose as a team. When we win, we win as a team. But AD, he tries to be great all the time, and he’s great for us 90 percent of the time.” .. therefore, he cannot put it on himself.”
Rather than evening their record, the Lakers fell to 33–35 and were out of the play-in tournament picture – at least temporarily – as the Western Conference’s No. 11 seed.
After a lackluster performance by Davis, his teammates applauded how he forced nothing in Los Angeles’ 122–112 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday, when he made only eight points on 4-for-7 shooting. Score points. But encouraged the group to continue with what was working.
Davis did not think Toronto offered a script defensively for the Knicks to follow.
He said, ‘I have just missed a lot of shots. “I don’t think they did anything special. One-offs at times, they doubled a couple of times. But I don’t think it was something that extended beyond Toronto.”
Even with Davis not living up to his standards, the Lakers still had a chance. They led by four late in the third quarter—D’Angelo Russell scored 31 of his season-high 33 points before the fourth quarter began.
“He hurt,” said Russell, who was 13-for-19 for the game after starting 9-for-10 from the field. “He was hurt for us. I think we struggled, we tried to do everything we could. We didn’t get enough rebounds, didn’t get any stops, didn’t make enough shots. It went our way.” I didn’t come, I guess”
Los Angeles made one final push when Schroder’s layup cut the Knicks lead to two with 19.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers later took too long to foul, putting Josh Hart on the line. Stopped the clock with 5.0 seconds left. He made both free throws to cut New York’s lead back to four and essentially seal the win.
Lakers coach Darwin Hamm explained, “You try to force a turnover and then commit a foul if you can.” “And that’s how they spread us out. They did a great job of getting the ball away early and allowing them to play down time. To do it again, I’d do it the same way. I’d definitely do it.” Will do the same. It was just unfortunate that we didn’t get fouls in time.”
Despite seeing their three-game winning streak come to an end, there was a positive development for the Lakers on Sunday. LeBron James rejoins the team after being medically absent last week. The 20-year-old veteran is no longer wearing a walking boot. According to the team, the tendon injury in his right leg will be re-evaluated in about a week and a half.
Haim said of James, “It’s also good for him to unplug a little bit.” “Not necessarily take it apart, but just a little bit of mental peace for what’s happened over the course of the year. … It’s not just about her being healthy, it’s about her being healthy.” I’m in a good place mentally and spiritually, so we get by.” When he comes back he is the best version of him.”
Los Angeles has 14 games remaining on the schedule, starting with back-to-back roads against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
The Pelicans (33-35) are one of four teams in the West with identical records in the standings, along with the Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz.
Schroder said, “It doesn’t take every game to inspire a Western Conference team.” “I think every match we have to be motivated and ready. But that one, the next two, we have to get that.”
