Over the past six weeks, the New York Knicks have resembled a team that many expect to make another deep playoff run.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers are still holding onto the Pacific Division lead despite some mediocre results of late.
Coming off an impressive showing to start a five-game road trip, the Knicks can clinch their fourth straight winning season Sunday afternoon when they visit the Lakers, who are seeking a fourth straight home win and are two games above the play-in bubble.
New York lost four straight from Jan. 14-19 as part of a stretch when it lost nine of 11. Since then, the Knicks are 16-5 have and scored at least 120 points eight times during that span, including Friday’s impressive 142-103 win in the altitude over the Denver Nuggets.
New York scored its second-most points and shot 57.9% for its second-best shooting performance despite Jalen Brunson being held to nine points on 3-of-13 shooting.
The Knicks showed they can compensate for Brunson’s quiet night as OG Anunoby scored a season-high 34 points, while Josh Hart finished with 18 and Karl Anthony-Towns collected 17 and 13 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.
“This team, it’s deep, it’s really good,” New York coach Mike Brown said. “These guys are connected. They’re all sacrificing. The competitive spirit is there. They believe in each other. Our bench is up all game.
“We got delays of games because our bench was up for each other. And we’re holding each other accountable. I’m being held accountable, which is great.”
The Lakers took a 112-100 loss in New York on Feb. 1 when they were outscored 60-44 in the second half during the final game of Austin Reaves’ absence due to a right calf injury. Los Angeles won three straight immediately after, beating the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors.
Since Feb. 7, Los Angeles has split its past 12 contests, though it is 4-1 in its past five since a three-game losing streak Feb. 22-26.
The Lakers are coming off a 128-117 win over the Indiana Pacers that marked the fourth time they eclipsed 120 points since the All-Star break. Luka Doncic scored 44 points in three quarters as the Lakers shot 52.9% and hit 17 3s.
“I had my legs,” Doncic said. “They were working. But we definitely needed to win this game so we came out aggressive and made a statement.”
Doncic had his 10th 40-point game this season, joining Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West as the fourth player in team history with at least 10 40-point games in a season.
Doncic’s big game was needed since LeBron James and DeAndre Ayton sat out. James missed the game after bruising his left elbow in Thursday’s 120-113 loss at Denver, while Ayton sat with knee soreness that limited him to the opening 4 1/2 minutes Thursday.
James is day-to-day but seems more likely to play, while Ayton may sit out again with a lingering ailment.
Without James and Ayton, the Lakers inserted Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura into the starting frontcourt. The duo combined for 22 points and seven rebounds, while the Lakers got 19 points from Reaves and 15 from Luke Kennard.
“You play teams that are playing winning basketball and (have) winning records, it definitely can build some confidence in the group,” Kennard said. “But I know even some of the close games we’ve lost just recently, I know we’ve done some really good things. We know what we have in the locker room and in this group.”
