NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 25 points, Landry Shamet added 23 and the New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-100 on Sunday night to spoil LeBron James’ 32nd game at Madison Square Garden.
Josh Hart finished with 20 points and Jalen Brunson had 12 points and a season-high 13 assists for the Knicks, who matched a season high with their sixth straight win, most of them coming easily.
James finished with 22 points, six assists and five rebounds after being chosen as a reserve earlier Sunday for his NBA-record 22nd consecutive All-Star selection. He fell to 23-9 in the regular season at MSG, where he came into the game having averaged 28.2 points, 7.6 assists and 7.0 rebounds.
Luka Doncic had 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. The game was exactly a year to the day of the Lakers’ last trip to New York, when shortly after their victory came word that they agreed to the blockbuster trade with Dallas that brought Doncic to Los Angeles.
James hasn’t said if his 23rd season will be his last, but the possibility of a final MSG appearance sent ticket sales soaring, with seats far from the floor selling for more than $500 and ones near the court going for thousands of dollars.
That, plus a nationally televised audience for the debut game of NBC’s “Sunday Night Basketball” schedule package, gave the game an even bigger feel that James’ usual trips. It was more competitive, too, as the Knicks late in his career are no longer the pushovers they were when his teams ruled the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks outscored the Lakers 38-26 in the third quarter, getting three straight transition baskets and then closing with 3-pointers by Shamet, Brunson and Anunoby in a 15-5 surge that sent them to the fourth with a 90-82 lead.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 13 rebounds after learning he was an All-Star reserve.
Up next
Lakers: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Knicks: At Washington on Tuesday night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Basketball Writer
