Knicks Prepare for Lakers and LeBron James<\/p>\n
One game before LeBron James made his annual appearance at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks were once again reminded that Jalen Brunson has become the James-like superstar they\u2019ve been searching for since James entered the league.<\/p>\n
Brunson will try to help the Knicks keep their perfect record on a five-game homestand when New York faces the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, marking the first matchup between these two major teams this season.<\/p>\n
The Knicks have been off since Wednesday night, when Brunson joined a select group of franchise legends by recording 30 points and 15 assists in a 122-112 victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers, meanwhile, continued their six-game road trip on Thursday, easily defeating the Washington Wizards 134-96.<\/p>\n
Brunson\u2019s historic double-double added another highlight to what has been a superstar-caliber season for the point guard, who is in his third year as the Knicks’ leader.<\/p>\n
Brunson, who was selected as an All-Star starter for the first time on January 23, is averaging 25.9 points and a career-high 7.5 assists per game, helping the Knicks stay on track for their third consecutive playoff appearance after making the postseason only once in the nine seasons before his arrival.<\/p>\n
Brunson stood out on Wednesday, particularly in the third quarter, when he scored 18 points to help the Knicks seize the lead, then added seven assists in the fourth as New York pulled away. He became the fourth player in franchise history to record at least 30 points and 15 assists in a game, the first since Nate Robinson posted 33 points and 15 assists on February 11, 2009.<\/p>\n
“He was just special,” said Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns. “‘Cap’ is special. Everyone knows. We needed him to score tonight, we needed him to do what he does best. And he did that. That’s why he’s special. Whenever his name is called in the biggest moment, he’s ready.”<\/p>\n
No player has been as consistently ready as James, who turned 40 in December but continues to average 23.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 9.0 assists in his 22nd NBA season, along with nine triple-doubles. In the game against Washington on Thursday, James, despite playing through a lingering left foot injury, posted 24 points and 11 assists in just 26 minutes.<\/p>\n
The Lakers led 78-45 at halftime and were ahead 97-62 when James left for good with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter. The win marked Los Angeles\u2019 seventh victory in their last nine games, placing them fifth in the Western Conference, just ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves for a guaranteed playoff spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t overlook the fact that he\u2019s 40 years old in Year 22 with every accolade under the sun, and he comes out on a Thursday night in a non-nationally televised game against a struggling team and sets the tone,\u201d said Lakers coach JJ Redick.<\/p>\n
James has averaged 26.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists in 59 games against the Knicks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Knicks Prepare for Lakers and LeBron James One game before LeBron James made his annual appearance at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks were once again reminded that Jalen Brunson has become the James-like superstar they\u2019ve been searching for since James entered the league. Brunson will try to help the Knicks keep their perfect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2586],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers"],"yoast_head":"\n