The New York Knicks (21-25) head to the Staples Center for a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers (16-29).
The Knicks have rotated a loss with a win in their past four games. On Friday, they squeaked by the Utah Jazz by the score of 117-115. New York's dominant third quarter in which they outscored the Jazz 36-23 helped assure that the Knicks would come out on top despite a valiant late comeback by Utah. Tim Hardaway Jr. led all scorers with 31 points which included 6-7 shooting from downtown. Kristaps Porzingis and Courtney Lee also added 18 points each in the win.
The Lakers prevailed in their last outing, a 99-86 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday. Their victory came in spite of the worst free throw shooting in a game by percentage in NBA history (minimum 10 attempts) as they went 2-14 (14.3 percent) from the charity stripe. Jordan Clarkson had a dominant effort off the bench as he finished with 33 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Lineups
Knicks: PG - Jarrett Jack, SG - Tim Hardaway Jr., SF - Courtney Lee, PF - Kristaps Porzingis, C - Enes Kanter
Lakers: PG - Tyler Ennis, SG - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Josh Hart if Caldwell-Pope is unavailable), SF - Brandon Ingram (Kyle Kuzma if Ingram is unavailable), PF - Julius Randle, C - Brook Lopez
Leaders
Knicks: Scoring - Kristaps Porzingis 23.5, Rebounding - Enes Kanter 9.9, Assists - Jarrett Jack 6.1
Lakers: Scoring - Kyle Kuzma 16.5, Rebounding - Lonzo Ball 7.1 (OUT - leading available rebounder is Julius Randle 7.0), Assists - Lonzo Ball 7.1 (OUT - leader in assists that is available is Brandon Ingram, 3.4, or Jordan Clarkson, 3.1)
Injuries
Knicks: none
Lakers: Out - Lonzo Ball (knee), Questionable - Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Achilles), Brandon Ingram (ankle)
What to know
After a horrendous nine-game losing streak, the Lakers have looked like a much-improved team, winning five of their last seven.
In three of those wins, they have held the opponent to 86 points or less. They have also won four straight at home.
Although a small sample size, Tim Hardaway Jr. has shown improved shooting in his four games since returning from a leg injury. He has shot 52.6 percent from the field and 43.8 percent on threes. Those are much-improved numbers from his first 21 games when he shot 42.0 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Los Angeles plays at the league's quickest pace averaging approximately 101.1 possessions per 48 minutes. That fast pace hasn't always translated into success as their 103.3 points per 100 possessions ranks just 29th out of 30 teams.
History
The Lakers and Knicks have met 286 times in the regular season with the Lakers holding a 166-120 advantage in the win column.
They have won 120 of 195 head-to-head matchups since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.
The Knicks have now won six of their last seven games against the Lakers after a 113-109 overtime win over them on December 12. New York has also won the last three times they played the Lakers at Staples Center.
