New York @ Los Angeles preview
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Last Meeting ( Nov 23, 2021 ) L.A. Lakers 100, New York 106
The Los Angeles Lakers are desperate for something to feel positive about as they prepare to host the New York Knicks on Saturday.
The Lakers have lost nine of their past 13 games. LeBron James has missed the last five of those games, and veteran forward Carmelo Anthony left the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday before halftime with a hamstring injury. He did not return.
James has been cleared and will return against the Knicks.
The Lakers are 1-4 during James' latest absence, and while their rally from a 17-point deficit against the Clippers was commendable, they could have used another dependable defender on the floor at the end. They lost 111-110 to their local rivals when Reggie Jackson of the Clippers split the defense of Lakers guards Austin Reaves and Russell Westbrook and scored the game-winner on a spinning layup with 4.1 seconds remaining.
Lakers forward Anthony Davis had 30 points and 17 rebounds but missed a runner from 5 feet as time expired.
Malik Monk had 16 of his 21 points in the second half and Davis added 15 after the break. The Lakers shot 52.4 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and held the Clippers to 27.3 percent.
But the Lakers' third-quarter issues surfaced again when the Clippers pushed their lead to 84-67 with four minutes remaining in the period. And while the Lakers regained the lead twice in the closing minutes, they ultimately came up one point short.
"We trying to figure the same thing out," Monk said of the team's third-quarter lulls. "We talk about it every day. Every time we're together, we talk about why it's happening. We don't know. Tired of saying it. We've gotta figure this (stuff) out."
The Knicks enter the opener of a five-game Western Conference road swing following a 120-108 home loss to the surging Memphis Grizzlies. New York has lost four of its past five games, including its last three on the road.
The Knicks have also lost seven of nine, killing off any momentum built from a run of five victories in six games last month.
New York's Evan Fournier scored 30 points against the Grizzlies and shot 8-for-12 from 3-point range. His 143 3-pointers are the most ever by a Knicks player through 50 games. But by and large, positives have been hard to come by recently.
"As far as shooting goes, it's mental," Fournier said. "You have to get into a space mentally where nothing affects you and you play with a lot of confidence. Don't let anything get to your head and do everything you have done during your career."
The Knicks' Kemba Walker could use that advice after going a combined 0-for-6 from the field in New York's last two games. He has averaged just under 17 minutes in the two contests. Walker has averaged 6.7 points in seven games since returning from a sore left knee.
"Kemba is a proven scorer in this league (and) players are gonna go through different things," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He could miss 10 in a row; I'd believe he's gonna make 10 in a row."
--Field Level Media