Luka Doncic poured in 35 points as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a tense fourth quarter and the absence of LeBron James to cruise to a 110-97 victory over the visiting New York Knicks on Sunday.
James sat out with a bruised left elbow sustained Thursday against the Denver Nuggets when he took a hit from Nikola Jokic. The Lakers also cited left foot arthritis as a factor keeping the 41-year-old off the court.
With James also missing Friday’s win over the Indiana Pacers, it marked his first back-to-back absence since the season’s opening 14 games, when sciatica in his back and leg sidelined him.
Without James, Doncic scored 14 points in the third quarter as the Lakers outscored the Knicks 34-20. He shot 11-for-25 overall and made two 3-pointers during a 20-8 run over the final seven-plus minutes of the third, turning a 68-61 lead into an 88-69 advantage entering the fourth.
After taking a big lead into the fourth, the Lakers slumped for most of the quarter until the final minutes. They missed 10 straight shots before Doncic banked in a layup for a 104-91 lead with 2:34 remaining and capped the scoring with another 3-pointer with 1:05 left.
Austin Reaves added 25 points and made a pair of key defensive plays against Jalen Brunson in the final minutes. Rui Hachimura started for James and contributed 13 points, while reserve Luke Kennard chipped in 12 as the Lakers shot 43.2%, including 7-for-24 in the fourth.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 25 points, including 11 in the fourth, along with 16 rebounds. Brunson added 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists but shot 8-for-19 from the field and committed seven of New York's 19 turnovers.
The Knicks shot 42.7% and were 8-for-34 from behind the arc after hitting 18 3-pointers in their 12-point home win over the Lakers on Feb. 1.
Doncic scored 12 points in the opening quarter, which ended with the Lakers taking a 31-23 lead when Kennard sank a corner 3-pointer with 13.9 seconds left.
As Brunson rested, the Lakers opened a 45-33 lead on a 3-pointer by Jarred Vanderbilt with 7:32 left in the half.
Following Vanderbilt's 3-pointer, Los Angeles missed nine consecutive shots before Reaves beat the buzzer with an off-balance five-footer for a 54-49 lead at halftime.
The Lakers used a 12-2 run to build a 68-56 lead on a 3-pointer by Reaves with 8:18 left in the third quarter, allowed the lead to shrink to seven on a basket by Josh Hart less than a minute later, then rallied again.