NEW YORK — The Lakers are used to placing on a present when they’re at Madison Square Garden.
But for most of Sunday night time, they watched a present they most likely wouldn’t need reruns of: the Knicks beating them up on the offensive glass and creating a barrage of open 3-pointers.
The outcome was the Knicks’ burying 18 3-pointers, and the Lakers shedding in New York 112-100 despite Luka Doncic’s close to triple-double of 30 factors, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
02/01/26: Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic breaks away from New York Knicks ahead Og Anunoby during the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, Sunday, February 01, 2026. Photo By: JASON SZENES/ NY POST JASON SZENES/ NY POST
LeBron James, who entered Sunday with the third-best successful share by a visiting player all-time at Madison Square Garden, recorded 22 factors, six assists and 5 rebounds.
But the Lakers couldn’t match the Knicks’ 3-point proficiency, capturing 28.6% from beyond the arc in contrast to New York’s 42.9%.
The Knicks grabbed 15 offensive rebounds in contrast to the Lakers’ seven.
Sunday was the Lakers’ first loss at Madison Square Garden since 2021.
OG Anunoby scored a team-high 25 factors for the Knicks to go with eight rebounds, while Josh Hart added 20 factors and Karl-Anthony Towns had an 11 point-13 rebound double-double.
02/01/26: New York Knicks ahead OG Anunoby slams the ball during the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, Sunday, February 01, 2026. Photo By: JASON SZENES/ NY POST JASON SZENES/ NY POST
What it means
The Lakers, who dropped to 29-19, still have a likelihood to safe a successful report on the journey despite the loss to the Knicks, who are on a six-game successful streak after Sunday’s victory.
Despite the loss, the Lakers still have the third-best successful share among Western Confence groups with a 17-11 report in video games away from Crypto.com Arena.
Turning level
After the Lakers had nice ball safety for most of Sunday, Doncic made an errant move that was picked off by Towns and led to an Anunoby dunk in transition to tie the recreation at 77 at the 2:37 mark of the third quarter.
Gabe Vincent turned the ball over on the next possession, with Anunoby getting another dunk to put the Knicks up 79-77.
The Lakers had another empty possession when Rui Hachimura missed a nook 3, with Brunson helping Landry Shamet on an alley-oop in transition for a Knicks’ 6-0 run that turned a Lakers two-point lead to a four-point New York benefit.
The Lakers trailed by eight coming into the fourth, and trailed for the the rest of the recreation.
02/01/26: Los Angeles Lakers ahead LeBron James drives move New York Knicks ahead Og Anunoby during the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, Sunday, February 01, 2026. Photo By: JASON SZENES/ NY POST JASON SZENES/ NY POST
MVP: Jalen Brunson
Despite capturing 4-of-15 from the subject, the Knicks star guard managed the recreation with 13 assists, spraying out passes after getting into the Lakers’ protection.
He had 9 assists in the second half, which the Knicks won 60-44.
Stat of the recreation: 2
That’s how many subject objective makes an attempt Deandre Ayton took after the first quarter after having 9 factors on 4-of-4 capturing and 4 rebounds in the opening body.
Ayton completed with 13 factors on 6-of-6 capturing and 5 rebounds in 32 minutes, with the Lakers taking part in a center-less lineup in the last 3:34.
The Lakers are now 11-15 when Ayton takes 9 or fewer pictures, and 15-2 when he has at least 10 subject objective makes an attempt in a recreation.
Up next
The Lakers will wrap up their eight-game, 16-day “Grammy” journey against the Nets on Tuesday before having an prolonged stretch back in Southern California.
By the time the journey ends, the Lakers would’ve been on the highway for 12 consecutive days.
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