LOS ANGELES — It was quite a night for former draft picks of the Lakers. Unfortunately, a number of them happen to now play for the New York Knicks.
The hard-charging scoring game of Julius Randle (33 points) and the clutch play of Josh Hart proved to be a stick in the Lakers’ side on Sunday afternoon in a 112-108 loss to the Knicks. The Lakers (33-35) made an 8-0 push in the last two-and-a-half minutes, but ultimately couldn’t catch one of the best-performing Eastern Conference teams since the trade deadline.
The defeat put a dent in their own ambitions, as they lost the chance to improve to .500 for the first time all season and kept them locked in a four-way record tie with New Orleans, Utah and Oklahoma City, but stuck in 11th place thanks to unfavorable tie-breakers.
They have a chance this week to improve that quickly with a quick roadtrip of back-to-back games against the Pelicans and last-place Houston. But it was painful to see a game they trailed by just two points in the final 10 seconds get away from them.
“This one hurt,” D’Angelo Russell said. “This one hurt us.”
Russell had a season-high 33 points, hitting his first five shots and looking particularly energized in the first three quarters, matching Randle’s bully-ball game with long-range finesse. But while he made his biggest splash in Friday’s win in the fourth quarter, he was muted in the deciding frame on Sunday. He shot just 1 for 5 in the final quarter for two points.
For the second straight game, Anthony Davis struggled to make his impact felt on offense, finishing with 17 points and 16 rebounds. He was outdone by New York’s R.J. Barrett, who had 30 points as Randle’s co-star. It was a game in which LeBron James’ absence was particularly felt – he had played a leading role in a win in New York in January.
Davis said he was satisfied with his defense, but on the other end admitted “I wasn’t there.” He bristled over his 8 for 18 shooting mark, as well as a…
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