New York Knicks Spoil Banner Night for Los Angeles Lakers, Pull Out Scrappy Road Win

The New York Knicks spoiled the Los Angeles Lakers' In-Season Tournament banner-raising night thanks to brilliant performances throughout the lineup.

One game after being the that broke the San Antonio Spurs' 18-game losing streak, the Los Angeles Lakers took to their home court to face a hungry New York Knicks squad. 

New York entered Monday night's matchup having lost four of its last six contests — the worst of which being a four-point loss to the Utah Jazz on the road — and needing a win to both avoid being swept by the resident Southern California squads and prevent back-to-back losses. 

Los Angeles, on the other hand, got a chance to celebrate its In-Season Tournament victory in front of a packed house, adding a banner to the rafters to commemorate the perfect stint it had in both group play and Las Vegas.

But the Knicks handled business en route to a 114-109 victory, using dominant rebounding efforts and diverse scoring to pull out the win.

New York (15-11) outrebounded the Lakers on both ends of the floor, which allowed it to earn multiple second-chance opportunities, thanks in part to Isaiah Hartenstein's career-high 17 boards, to extend their lead throughout the game. Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, and Immanuel Quickley served as the Knicks' three-headed dragon, combining for 76 points in a top-heavy affair. Randle notched a double-double in the win with 27 points and 14 rebounds.

For the Lakers, it was a near-identical point distribution, as Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves united for 77 on the Lakers' end but sloppy play at the end of the third quarter forced them to play from behind in a game that left no room for miscues.

Dec 18, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (5) shoots the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1), forward Anthony Davis (3) and guard Austin Reaves (15) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena / © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

From the jump, both teams engaged in back-and-forth action. A balanced attack from the Knicks, offensive action from Randle, Brunson, and Donte DiVincenzo, allowed them to get out front early despite some fast points from James and Davis. 

By the midway point of the first period, New York had a slim one-point lead but was able to break it open to take an eight-point lead to the second quarter.

The Knicks continued to roll in the latter 12 minutes of the first half behind Quickley, Randle, and Brunson, though the Lakers kept things interesting as the clock to halftime wound down. A Jaxson Hayes dunk slimmed New York's lead down to just four points two minutes into the second, but from there, the Knicks responded well.

Three straight makes by the Knicks extended their cushion to just one bucket below double-digits, shifting the momentum aggressively with a full-court pass from former Laker Josh Hart to Quickley on the other end. 

TOUCHDOWN ‼️@joshhart 🤝 @IQ_GodSon pic.twitter.com/WTf36tM7Dh

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 19, 2023

New York found itself up by seven points with just 1:26 to play in the first half, and a couple of Hart free throws made it seem like they'd be able to hold that lead, but the Lakers (15-12) had other plans: Davis converted an And-1 to start the scoring from that point, and D'Angelo Russell piggy-backed with a 3-pointer of his own before Davis brought it home with a jump shot to neutralize the Knicks' lead and give Los Angeles a slight edge. 

From there, both teams went to the second half locked in a one-point war.

The third quarter went largely in favor of the Lakers: James added five more points to continue the Lakers' late-half run and further his team's cushion, but a slew of scoring from DiVincenzo, Randle, and RJ Barrett reversed that lead, and as the third quarter waned, so, too, did the Lakers' offensive success.

The Knicks finished the third quarter with a 15-0 run to take a 10-point lead to the final quarter, and that ended up being the dagger in the Lakers' side. Despite putting together a strong playing-from-behind effort, they couldn't quite get over the hump and ultimately fell short, having to play the fouling game under a minute in hopes of coming back. 

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Los Angeles got as close as three down the stretch, but it was too little, too late as New York pulled out a scrappy victory on the road thanks in part to some clutch free throws near the end. It'll have a chance to go for a sweep on Feb. 3 in a rematch at Madison Square Garden.

In the meantime, the Knicks will return to New York on Wednesday but will finish off their road trip when they face the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).