New York (2-5) at LA Lakers (3-4), 10:00 pm EST
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Larry Brown and Phil Jackson are not
accustomed to being under .500.
Brown will look to guide the New York Knicks to their third
consecutive victory Wednesday when they visit the Los Angeles
Lakers in the fifth contest of a six-game road trip.
Coming off consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals with
Detroit - winning the 2004 championship - Brown lost his first
five games with New York before guiding the team to victories
against Sacramento and Utah.
The Knicks set a franchise record for fewest points allowed in
the shot-clock era and limited the Jazz to 29 percent shooting
(27-of-75) from the floor in Monday's 73-62 triumph. Jamal
Crawford led New York with 20 points.
The Lakers are back home after dropping the last three contests
of a four-game road swing. They averaged 76 points in those
defeats, prompting Jackson - who guided the team to three
straight titles earlier this decade - to label his team's effort
as "pathetic."
After leading the league in scoring in the first week of the
campaign, Kobe Bryant has failed to break 20 in his last two
outings. He scored 17 against Philadelphia on Friday and 18 in
Monday's 85-73 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Lakers scored 33 first-half points against Memphis and just
managed to avoid setting a franchise low in the shot-clock era
in the final minute.
Los Angeles has won six of the last eight meetings against New
York. The teams split their two encounters last season.





