Game ID: 22300359
New York Knicks @ Los Angeles Lakers
Monday, December 18, 2023 at 10:30 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAL 27 31 22 29 109NYK 35 22 33 24 114
LAL vs NYK ScoutingLAL vs NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
LAL availability going into 12/07 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 18 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 12/05 after 5, 21 min since (79% of 27)
BACK Reddish back 11/29 after 3, 25 min since (120% of 20)
BACK Vanderbilt back 12/02 after 7, 14 min since (72% of 20)
NEW Christie 14 to 21 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 12/12 · 4 days' restOUT Vincent missed 19 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 12/05 after 5, 21 min since (79% of 27)
BACK Reddish back 11/29 after 3, 24 min since (119% of 20)
BACK Vanderbilt back 12/02 after 7, 14 min since (72% of 20)
NEW Christie 14 to 19 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 12/13 · back-to-backOUT Vincent missed 20 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 12/05 after 5, 24 min since (88% of 27)
BACK Vanderbilt back 12/02 after 7, 14 min since (72% of 20)
LAL availability going into 12/15 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 21 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 12/05 after 5, 24 min since (88% of 27)
BACK Vanderbilt back 12/02 after 7, 15 min since (75% of 20)
LAL availability going into 12/18 · 2 days' restOUT Vincent missed 22 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Hachimura back 12/05 after 5, 26 min since (96% of 27)
LAL availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 23 since 11/01, returns tonight: 14 min (78% of 18)
NEW Prince 27 to 33 min over the last 5
LAL availability going into 12/21 · back-to-backBACK Vincent back 12/20 after 23, 14 min since (78% of 18)
NEW Prince 27 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Reddish 20 to 26 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restBACK Vincent back 12/20 after 23, 14 min since (78% of 18)
NEW Prince 27 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Reddish 20 to 29 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Vincent missed 2 since 12/21, out tonight
OUT Christie missed 2 since 12/21, out tonight
NEW Prince 27 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Reddish 20 to 30 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/11 · 2 days' restOUT Fournier missed 9 since 11/18, out tonight
BACK McBride back 11/28 after 2, 2 min since (9% of 21)
BACK Sims back 11/28 after 2, 2 min since (18% of 12)
NYK availability going into 12/13 · 1 day's restOUT Fournier missed 10 since 11/18, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/05 after 2, 6 min since (31% of 21)
BACK Sims back 12/05 after 2, 12 min since (97% of 12)
NYK availability going into 12/15 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 2 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 11 since 11/18, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/05 after 2, 6 min since (31% of 21)
BACK Sims back 12/05 after 2, 14 min since (114% of 12)
NYK availability going into 12/16 · back-to-backOUT Robinson missed 3 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 12 since 11/18, out tonight
BACK McBride back 12/05 after 2, 5 min since (23% of 21)
BACK Sims back 12/05 after 2, 15 min since (121% of 12)
NYK availability going into 12/18 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 4 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 13 since 11/18, out tonight
NEW Sims 12 to 19 min over the last 4
NYK availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 5 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 14 since 11/18, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 31 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/23 · 2 days' restOUT Robinson missed 6 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 15 since 11/18, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 7 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 16 since 11/18, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 2 since 12/20, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT Robinson missed 8 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Fournier missed 17 since 11/18, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 3 since 12/20, out tonight
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 33 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; Davis at 29 and James at 29 a game. They have won the glass by 4 a night. Without Vincent (22 straight). 2 days' rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 129, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Randle at 26 a game. Without Robinson (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Lakers win, and the game turns on the defense, the Lakers allowing 113 a night to New York's 129. Call it the Lakers 120, New York 116, New York keeping it close.
12/07 vs NOP 133-89 — LAL notes
LAL won 133-89. LAL shot 55% (47 of 86) to NOP's 36%, 17 of 35 from three, and went to the line 29 times to NOP's 20 — 22 points from the stripe to their 14. The glass went 59-42 for them. James led with 30 (9 of 12, 4 of 4 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Reaves added 17, Davis 16. The hinge was Q3, 43-17: a lead of 13 became 39, and the lead reached 44. James was the night's best plus/minus at +36.
12/12 @ DAL 125-127 — LAL notes
LAL lost 125-127. LAL shot 54% (49 of 91) to DAL's 49%, 15 of 29 from three. LAL turned it over 15 times to DAL's 10. Davis led with 37 (15 of 21, 6 of 10 at the line); James added 33, Reaves 22. Q3 was theirs, 34-22, turning a 10-point deficit into a 2-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 105-91 against them. Reddish's -10 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/13 @ SAS 122-119 — LAL notes
LAL won 122-119. LAL shot 54% (49 of 91) to SAS's 47%, 14 of 35 from three. Davis led with 37 (13 of 23, 2 of 3 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Prince added 17, Reaves 15. The hinge was Q1, 34-26: from level to 8 ahead, and the lead reached 20. Hachimura was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
12/15 @ SAS 115-129 — LAL notes
LAL lost 115-129. LAL shot 48% (43 of 89) to SAS's 49%, 11 of 36 from three, and went to the line 28 times to SAS's 19 — 18 points from the stripe to their 17. James led with 23 (7 of 17, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Reaves added 22, Hachimura 20. Q2 was theirs, 40-27, the deficit cut from 20 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 102-75 against them. James's -28 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/18 vs NYK 109-114 — LAL notes
LAL lost 109-114. LAL took 11 more shots (99 to 88), but shot 42% to NYK's 48%, 13 of 41 from three, and got to the line 13 times to NYK's 23. LAL turned it over 10 times to NYK's 15. The glass went 41-52 against them. Davis led with 32 (14 of 22); James added 25, Reaves 20. Q2 was theirs, 31-22, turning a 8-point deficit into a 1-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 92-78 against them. James's -13 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/20 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 40 from three, 24 free throws a game; White at 26 and DeRozan at 24 a game. Without LaVine (9 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 116, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 21 free throws a game; Davis at 30 and James at 28 a game. Without Vincent (23 straight). One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Chicago 116, the Lakers 115, the Lakers keeping it close.
12/21 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Towns at 24 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. The Lakers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 123, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Davis at 31 and James at 26 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the arc, Minnesota at 43 percent from three to the Lakers' 37 and the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and the Lakers minus-3. Call it Minnesota 118, the Lakers 111.
12/23 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Holmgren at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; Davis at 30 and James at 24 a game. That is 4 straight losses. They have lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it OKC 121, the Lakers 113.
12/25 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; James at 28 and Davis at 27 a game. They have lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Vincent (2 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 43 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Tatum at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and the Lakers minus-4 and the arc, Boston at 43 percent from three to the Lakers' 36. Call it Boston 120, the Lakers 114.
12/11 vs TOR 136-130 — NYK notes
NYK won 136-130. NYK shot 60% (52 of 86) to TOR's 49%, 17 of 29 from three, and got to the line 23 times to TOR's 30. NYK turned it over 15 times to TOR's 10, and TOR turned those into 12 steals. Randle led with 34 (14 of 21, 1 of 3 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Barrett added 27, Brunson 21. The hinge was Q2, 31-25: from level to 6 ahead. Grimes was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
12/13 @ UTA 113-117 — NYK notes
NYK lost 113-117. NYK shot 44% (41 of 94) to UTA's 44%, 9 of 39 from three, and went to the line 32 times to UTA's 21 — 22 points from the stripe to their 15. NYK turned it over 8 times to UTA's 15. Randle led with 32 (14 of 23, 2 of 6 from three); Brunson added 23, DiVincenzo 21. Q1 was theirs, 31-22, but the other 3 periods went 95-82 against them. They led by as many as 10. Grimes's -27 in 16 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/15 @ PHX 139-122 — NYK notes
NYK won 139-122. NYK shot 60% (49 of 82) to PHX's 52%, 17 of 29 from three, and went to the line 28 times to PHX's 21 — 24 points from the stripe to their 17. Brunson led with 50 (17 of 23, 9 of 9 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Randle added 23, Barrett 21. The hinge was Q4, 42-23: NYK came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 17, and the lead reached 20. NYK trailed 63-68 at the half and won the second half 76-54. Hart was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
12/16 @ LAC 122-144 — NYK notes
NYK lost 122-144. NYK shot 47% (44 of 94) to LAC's 57%, 11 of 35 from three, and got to the line 26 times to LAC's 34. Brunson led with 22 (7 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Randle added 22, Barrett 18. Q1 was theirs, 33-35, but the other 3 periods went 109-89 against them. Barrett's -30 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/18 @ LAL 114-109 — NYK notes
NYK won 114-109. NYK shot 48% (42 of 88) to LAL's 42%, 10 of 30 from three, and went to the line 23 times to LAL's 13 — 20 points from the stripe to their 12. NYK turned it over 15 times to LAL's 10, and LAL turned those into 9 steals. The glass went 52-41 for them. Brunson led with 29 (10 of 21, 3 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Randle added 27, Quickley 20. The hinge was Q3, 33-22: NYK came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 10. NYK trailed 57-58 at the half and won the second half 57-51. Randle was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
12/20 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 123, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Thomas at 26 and Bridges at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Simmons (19 straight), Smith Jr. (6 straight), Walker IV (8 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 124, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 26 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Randle at 28 a game. Without Robinson (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-2 a night and Brooklyn minus-5 and the line, where New York takes 26 free throws a game to Brooklyn's 20. Call it New York 119, Brooklyn 117, Brooklyn keeping it close.
12/23 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Randle at 26 a game. Without Robinson (6 straight). 2 days' rest. Milwaukee comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 133 a night and allowing 118, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 33 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 32 and Lillard at 31 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Crowder (19 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 33 free throws a game to New York's 27. Call it New York 121, Milwaukee 120, Milwaukee keeping it close.
12/25 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 121, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Randle at 25 a game. Without Robinson (7 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 28 free throws a game; Lillard at 31 and Antetokounmpo at 25 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Crowder (20 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-8 a night and New York plus-1 and the defense, Milwaukee allowing 115 a night to New York's 121. Call it Milwaukee 121, New York 119, New York keeping it close.
12/27 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 113, shooting 53 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Holmgren at 19 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Randle at 25 a game. Without Robinson (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 113 a night to New York's 121 and the arc, OKC at 38 percent from three to New York's 33. Call it OKC 120, New York 115.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKDD D. DiVincenzo
IH I. Hartenstein
IQ I. Quickley
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
JR J. Randle
JS J. Sims
QG Q. Grimes
RB R. Barrett
TG T. Gibson
LALAD A. Davis
AR A. Reaves
CR C. Reddish
DR D. Russell
JH J. Hayes
JV J. Vanderbilt
LJ L. James
RH R. Hachimura
TP T. Prince
NYK/LAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Knicks overcome LeBron James' 109th triple-double and hold off the Lakers 114-109
LOS ANGELES -- — 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.”
Los Angeles' superstar duo was let down by its supporting cast again as the other Lakers combined for 33.3% shooting.
“It's very rare we get outscored in the paint, and (the Knicks) were very deliberate in trying to play downhill, get to the paint, but just constantly coming at you," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “I felt like they caught us standing a little bit.”
Randle scored 16 points in the first half against his former team, while Brunson contributed three 3-pointers in a strong all-around game as New York rebounded from a loss to the Clippers two nights earlier.
The Knicks are already playing without injured center Mitchell Robinson , and big man Jericho Sims then sprained his ankle early on against the Lakers. Isaiah Hartenstein stepped up with nine points and 17 rebounds while playing nearly 39 minutes.
“We knew we would be challenged in this way to be mentally tough, to get through adversity,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said. “There’s going to be some bumps. We took on a big injury, and I think the guys that are stepping in have been terrific. You need everybody, and we’ve got different guys, someone different almost every night.”
Austin Reaves scored 20 points for the Lakers, who couldn't win despite getting Davis, D'Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish back from injury after they all missed an embarrassing loss to San Antonio three nights earlier.
“It's tough, (because) for the whole month of December, we've basically been on the road,” Davis said. “There's nothing we can really do about it. It's the schedule. We've just got to take care of our bodies and get some guys back, hopefully in the next couple of games. But it's definitely a mental challenge.”
Before their first home game since Dec. 5, the Lakers unveiled a banner celebrating their unbeaten run through the In-Season Tournament, culminating in their victory over Indiana in Las Vegas nine days ago.
With their fans providing polite cheers, the Lakers unveiled the modest black banner — which has room to add future championship years — next to the five Minneapolis Lakers championship banners. They're all hung in a less-prominent spot on their downtown arena's north wall, which is dominated by Los Angeles' 12 gold title banners.