The Lakers, still in the contention for that top six seed, met the Knicks in a home game on Tuesday night. Both the sides played neck-to-neck and closed at 55-56 by halftime as the Knicks aimed at replicating their April 12 win. 

The first half saw Derrick Rose and Kyle Kuzma scoring massively for their respective sides. Still, the one-on-one between Julius Randle and Anthony Davis turned heads as the latter failed to defend his former teammate in a sequence.

Julius Randle unstoppable against Anthony Davis

With under three minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Lakers were leading 51-47 when Julius Randle made the most of a possession. He had Anthony Davis guarding against him, but it was nothing that could stop the Knicks’ top contributor from scoring. Take a look at the impressive floating jump shot that awarded the Knicks three points (one FT on a foul):

Interestingly, the two men had previously played for the same team in 2018-19 when they represented the Pelicans. In the 2019 off-season, AD went to the Lakers (Randle’s former team), and the Beyblade turned his feet towards New York. So the 26-YO forward’s experience of playing alongside The Brow came in handy when he had to break the otherwise flawless defense.

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Read also – Former NBA Champion Compares Lakers’ Anthony Davis to Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic

Lakers vs Knicks: What else made it a feisty battle?

Fortunately for the Knicks, LeBron James did not turn up, and the Lakers stayed AD’s responsibility. But more than Anthony, it was Kyle Kuzma who inflicted harm on the NY-based youthful squad. Kriss Kross was scoring at 70% until the beginning of Q3 and his lower back injury (that kept him out against the Suns) did not seem to bother him. Moreover, center Andre Drummond also impacted from both ends as he completed his double-double in under 22 minutes of play. 

The Lakers’ tight defense kept the dangerous shooter in RJ Barrett in control as the youngster missed all of his initial four three-point attempts. In fact, besides Julius Randle, Frank Ntilikina, and Derrick Rose, none of the Knicks posed any trouble to the Lakers. After the end of Q3, the Lakers still trailed 73-76 due to the fighting spirit of the Knicks.

Also recommended – How Kobe Bryant Inspired Julius Randle to Improve His Games By Setting His Priorities Straight