RJ Barrett scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks stopped a three-game losing streak by holding on for a 112-108 victory over the host Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, March 12 (Monday, March 13, Manila time).
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 33 points after shooting 5-of-24 in Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, but it was Barrett playing the role of closer.
Barrett was 6 of 12 in the fourth quarter and hit the tiebreaking basket when his layup snapped a 93-93 tie with 9:26 remaining. Barrett hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to 106-96 with 5:01 left and his basket made it 110-100 with 2:34 left but it was New York’s final basket and the Knicks survived a dicey finish.
A layup by Dennis Schroder made it 110-108 with 19.3 seconds left and Josh Hart hit two free throws with five seconds remaining to make it 112-108. After the Lakers called their final timeout, the game ended when Russell missed a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left.
Before Barrett produced in the fourth, he was 6-of-15 as the Knicks lost an eight-point lead and trailed 86-85 going into the fourth.
The Knicks were without Jalen Brunson (sore left foot) for the second straight game and fourth time in five games since the guard was injured March 3 in Miami. New York improved to 4-5 without Brunson and won for the 10th time in 13 games.
Russell made six three-pointers and scored 33 points but the Lakers saw their three-game winning streak stopped and they missed an opportunity to reach .500 for the first time this season. Russell was 1-of-5 in the fourth quarter when the Lakers were held to 22 points.
Anthony Davis added a double-double of 17 points and 16 boards but also missed four free throws as the Lakers missed seven foul shots after going 19-for-19 in Friday’s win over Toronto.
Immanuel Quickley started for Brunson and contributed 15 points for the Knicks, who shot 47.7%.
Randle scored 18 points, including 14 straight New York points as the Knicks erased a seven-point deficit and held a 31-27 lead after the opening quarter. Randle capped a 25-point half by hitting a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left to give the Knicks a 62-59 lead by halftime. – Rappler.com
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