This time last year, the stakes were different — and so were the results.
The Knicks had traded for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges the preceding summer, a series of moves signaling New York’s newfound “singular focus” on bringing a championship to Madison Square Garden for the first time in over 50 years, and on the week of last season’s early-February NBA Trade Deadline, the Knicks hosted the Los Angeles Lakers in a matchup the Lakers ran away with following OG Anunoby’s in-game hamstring injury.
The Lakers would go on to trade Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic just moments after leaving Madison Square Garden with a victory. A year later, the shoe is on the other foot.
Now, it’s the Knicks who could very well be positioned to pull off the deal of the century — if not an organizational lifetime — regardless of their 112-100 victory over the Lakers on Sunday. It’s the Knicks who have to prove between now and the Feb. 5 NBA Trade Deadline that a seismic move for Giannis Antetokounmpo would do more harm than good for the championship odds of a team that believes it has bounced back from the doldrums of nine losses in 11 games.
So far, so good. Message received, loud and clear. The Knicks have now won six games in a row. They’ve tied their longest winning streak of the season (it was seven games if you count the NBA Cup Final against the San Antonio Spurs, a game the league does not credit toward season stats or the official win-loss column). And they’re back to moving the ball and playing selflessly on the offensive end.
Mike Brown credited the Knicks’ improved play to having more practice time as the schedule has lightened.
“We’ve had a chance to practice a little bit. But we made changes a little earlier, we’ve gotten a little better with the changes. Guys have been communicating more, but they’re able to do that because they feel a little bit more comfortable with what we’re doing,” he said ahead of tipoff. “Defensively, we made some changes. Offensively too. And, uh, you know. I think because we’ve had a chance to work at it a little bit, the guys have had a chance to get- be involved with it a little bit, the confidence is great. That’s growing as well.”
For the second time in New York’s last three games, Jalen Brunson (12 points, 4-of-15 shooting) had a poor shooting night from the field, yet for the third game in a row, it didn’t matter. For the third game in a row, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby scored 20 or more points apiece.
Anunoby (25 points, 9-of-15 shooting) and Hart (20 points, 8-of-11 shooting) combined for 45 points on 26 shot attempts, and the Knicks got another 23 points and six 3s off the bench from Landry Shamet as Miles McBride missed his third consecutive game with ankle soreness. Anunoby put the final nail in the Lakers’ coffin when he secured an offensive rebound with three minutes left in the fourth and scored on a putback dunk in traffic to extend New York’s lead to 12.
Meanwhile, an improved Knicks defense soured what could be the final appearance at the World’s Most Famous Arena in LeBron James’ storied, first-ballot Hall of Fame-worthy NBA career. Fans lined outside The Garden several hours ahead of tipoff to watch James exit the team bus. They cheered and chanted his name during pregame warmups and introductions and cheered harder during his moments on Sunday, including a blast from the past in a two-handed alley-oop finish on a feed from Marcus Smart.
But the Lakers were without star forward Austin Reaves, and after a 33-point opening period, Los Angeles was unable to sustain its scoring punch. James finished with 22 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, and Luka Doncic added 30 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists on 10-of-23 shooting, but no other Lakers players scored more than 13 points.
The Knicks, who entered Sunday’s matchup with the NBA’s top-ranked defense over their last five games, strengthened their position in the win over the Lakers. They have held five of their last six opponents to 100 or fewer points.
The going is set to get tough from here, but Sunday night was a good sign. The Knicks’ five-game winning streak came against opponents with a combined 100-122 record. With Denver, Detroit and Boston as three of New York’s next four games, the Knicks will see exactly where they stand.
