Here is a by-the-numbers look at the Lakers’ 92-80 loss to the New York Knicks.
0
Leads for the Lakers. L.A. managed to tie the game at two points apiece, but from there it was all New York, which recorded its first wire-to-wire victory of the season. The Lakers, who tied a league-high with their fifth loss without leading of the season, allowed the Knicks to take a 32-19 lead in the first quarter and couldn’t claw closer than five points the rest of the way.
7
Minutes played by Jordan Hill, who left the game with a strained right quad. The six-year pro tallied two points and five rebounds in his limited playing time, and the rest of the bigs struggled to fill his absence, shooting just 11-for-29 (37.9 percent) from the field.
“Jordan didn’t even know how it happened,” head coach Byron Scott said. “He just said he just started feeling something. I asked him (if) he heard anything pop or anything like that. He said, ‘No, but it feels like it’s about to pop.’”
19
Points pitched in by Carlos Boozer, who led his team in scoring. Boozer shot 6-for-15 from the field and also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to reach his eighth double-double of the season. The first-year Laker also led all players at the foul line, where he went 7-for-8 on free throws.
31
Points scored by Carmelo Anthony. The Eastern Conference All-Star starter poured in 31 points for the second time in three games by going 13-for-25 from the field. Anthony was a terror in the third quarter, as he went off for 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Anthony, who also grabbed eight rebounds, could have added more scoring but elected to take just one shot in four fourth-quarter minutes.
Carmelo Anthony Shot Chart (Third Quarter)
33.3
Percentage shot by L.A. The Lakers went just 27-for-76 from the field, as the Knicks contested 60.5 percent of their shots. The visitors opened the game especially cold, going just 5-for-20 in the first quarter. L.A. finally found some rhythm in the final period, but it was far too late, as it shot just 19-for-61 (31.1 percent) through three quarters.
Lakers Shot Chart
“I felt like today the ball was really stuck,” Jeremy Lin said. “It was stagnant. … I wanted to get the ball moving a little bit, so we could try to get easier shots. I thought we took a lot of tough shots. They did a good job of packing the paint, and we ended up shooting a lot of contested 2’s.”