Knicks 106, Lakers 100: More things in heaven and earth
The Knicks got out big, almost gave it up, but pulled through to defend home court against the LeBron-less Lakers, 106-100.
One day in 10th grade biology I got into a verbal back-and-forth with my teacher. The period was nearly over and our argument kept escalating. I knew I was pushing detention, but I couldn’t not talk back. With the red second hand on the clock nearing 12, when the bell would ring, Mrs. Flint — exhausted but unrelenting — snapped, “You always have to get the last word.” I waited a beat, said, “No I don’t,” and the bell rang, probably saving me from her literally murdering me and getting decent odds on a jury sympathizing with her.
Last night the New York Knicks were up 25 in the first half over the Los Angeles Lakers, then spent the second seeing it all slip through the fingers before hanging on for a 106-100 win. Even without LeBron James, suspended for the night after the Isaiah Stewart bloodying, the Lakers feature Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony. They were an unlikely bet to find themselves down so far, so fast, and proved unlikelier still to settle for that fate. Over and over in the second half, L.A. kept whittling away the deficit, kept pushing the Knicks further. And every time, the Knicks had an answer. The last word on this night was an eight-minute stretch in the fourth.
Early in the frame, Melo hit from deep to pull the Lakers within one. The Knicks’ next possession looked doomed when Obi Toppin lost control of the ball with only a few seconds left on the shot clock. L.A. had the momentum. But in the rock/paper/scissors of life, good fortune beats momentum.
Shortly after, with New York up three, Randle committed his fifth foul and, in the eyes of one official, doth protested too much, earning a technical foul and having to sit for most of the rest of the fourth. The front court was already shorthanded, with Mitchell Robinson and Taj Gibson joining Derrick Rose on the injured list. Obi Toppin checked in and hit a rarely-seen midrange J, bumping the lead to five. An Immanuel Quickley 3-ball Plinko’d into the basket. Alec Burks hit an improbable highlight attempt. Burks has some Ron Swoboda to him, some Lenny Dykstra — he’s not a remarkable athlete by professional athlete standards, but there’s just a flair there.
If you prefer a more modern comp, IQ evokes the same gleeful golden gunslinger vibe as RJ Cyler playing Jim Beckwourth in The Harder They Fall. Quickwourth hit his first four 3-point attempts of the fourth, the last one bouncing not once, not twice, but thrice before falling, building the lead back up to 12. After sitting for eight minutes, Randle checked in with a little over a minute left and the lead larger than when he left. The home stretch of the game featured both teams playing without the queens of the chessboard, LeBron and Randle. The Lakers still had AD and Westbrook and Melo. The Knicks had Toppin, Quickley, Burks, Nerlens Noel and Evan Fournier, a new lineup that won the day over three Hall-of-Famers. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
The Knicks flew out of the gate, scoring the game’s first 10 points and hitting from everywhere, especially from distance. Fournier and RJ Barrett each drained three triples in the first.
Randle was his usual tick-tock lub-dub center of everything, scoring 20, assisting on six baskets, and hauling in 16 rebounds on a night the Knicks were missing two centers. The blowout slipped away late in the second, when the Knicks couldn’t stop turning the ball over and the Lakers couldn’t stop taking advantage of it.
New York entered the break up 12 largely thanks to the starters, the much-maligned of late quintet having outscored L.A.’s 49-30.
The third quarter was a lot like the second, this time with the starters the ones giving the ball away repeatedly and letting the Lakers come all the way back. Fournier made six 3-pointers, many of them staunching the bleeding of another Laker run. This was 3van’s best game since he tied his career-high with 32 opening night against Boston. If you haven’t won 17 NBA championships, Evan Fournier is not wasting his energy on you.
Late in the third, the Knicks were clinging to the lead when they forced a Laker miss, but couldn’t get the rebound. Then, on that same possession, it happened again. And again. And again. And maybe again — it was hard to keep steady; symmetry in high doses is pretty dizzying. Westbrook had fully switched from Jekyll to Hyde, terrorizing the hosts to the tune of 18 third-quarter points. Some games feature dozens of lead changes. This was the kind where you just knew if the Knicks fell behind at all, the Lakers might run roughshod. It was more important than usual for them not to let L.A. pull ahead. As the quarter neared its end, the visitors were reminded if your attention be dropping, the rim hears from Toppin.
Is any vantage in this vida context-neutral? Last weekend the Knicks played a game that closely resembled this one — home against a Western team they were favored to beat, yet couldn’t separate from until after some fretful fourth quarter minutes. The differences between the Rockets and Lakers interest me far less than the Knicks getting the W both games. However much there is between heaven and earth, New York > Los Angeles never gets lost in the shuffle. Never gets old.
Notes
The Knick bench was outscored in the first half but bounced back big in the second, besting L.A.’s understudies 24-7.
Westbrook was nearly enough to pull the win out for the Lakers, scoring 31 on 56% from the field and 50% from deep, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing 10 assists. The other Lakers’ combined slash line: 33/27/62.
Another double-digit scoring night for Toppin. That’s seven times in 17 games this year after only three in 62 games his rookie year.
Will always have love for Melo. He never got it going, but just seeing him shoot was like going back in time.
The Knicks were up 21 late in the first before Malik Monk put up a quick five-spot. This is a thing that seems to happen a fair amount to this team. Tighten up the endgames, please.
AD missing six of 11 free throws isn’t why the Lakers lost. But it didn’t help.
Talen Horton-Tucker missing all eight of his shots isn’t why the Lakers lost. But it didn’t... you know.
Thibs opened the second quarter with Randle, Toppin, Burks, IQ and Quentin Grimes. :)
Every time someone passes the ball in the paint to Noel, it’s like ghosts appear and knock the ball around, just to be jerks. I’ve never seen a player look as allergic to catching a basketball as Nerlens Noel. It’s almost at the point where the Knicks are better off dribbling out of bounds then trying to dish to Noel underneath. At least that way it doesn’t turn into a fast break for the opponent.
Quoth Hamlet: “There are more things in heaven and earth…” This was a good win for the Knicks — “a couple of games over .500” has a much nicer ring than “.500.” But another nice thing is a winning streak, something the Knicks haven’t had since their 5-1 start to the season. Next game is Friday when they host Phoenix. Will New York soar higher or crash and burn? I’ll be eating Thanksgiving leftovers that night, so whatever happens, I’ma enjoy it.
