New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) dunks the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, and the New York Knicks overcame LeBron James’ 109th career triple-double for a 114-109 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
Julius Randle had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley scored 20 points while the Knicks hung tough in the final minutes and fended off a rally led by James to earn their second road win over the Lakers in 2023. New York went 2-2 on the Western portion of its five-game road trip.
“We took a step forward tonight, and we’re going to try to keep moving forward,” Brunson said. “We’re learning how to bounce back, but we’ve got to continue to stack wins. You can’t be comfortable after just one. Keep stacking them, keep being resilient and just stick together.”
James had 25 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who have lost three of four since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament. Anthony Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds, but Los Angeles couldn’t capitalize on numerous chances down the stretch to close the gap.
James scored back-to-back baskets to cut the Knicks’ lead to 103-99 with 3:38 left, but Randle rattled home a desperate 3-pointer to beat the shot clock moments later. James missed a 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play that would have trimmed New York’s lead to two points, and Randle cherry-picked a dunk on the other end.
“I feel like our energy was up and down throughout the course of the game,” said James, who has two triple-doubles this season as the only player to get one in his 21st NBA season. “We’ve been feeling it, definitely. Even through that, we still competed and gave ourselves a chance, but it’s a tough one for us.”
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