By ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 25 points, Landry Shamet added 23 and the New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-100, on Sunday night, Feb. 1, to spoil LeBron James’ 32nd game at Madison Square Garden.
Josh Hart finished with 20 points and Jalen Brunson had 12 points and a season-high 13 assists for the Knicks, who matched a season high with their sixth straight win, most of them coming easily.
James finished with 22 points, six assists and five rebounds after being chosen as a reserve earlier Sunday for his NBA-record 22nd consecutive All-Star selection. He fell to 23-9 in the regular season at MSG, where he came into the game having averaged 28.2 points, 7.6 assists and 7.0 rebounds.
Luka Doncic had 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. The game was exactly a year to the day of the Lakers’ last trip to New York, when shortly after their victory came word that they agreed to the blockbuster trade with Dallas that brought Doncic to Los Angeles.
James hasn’t said if his 23rd season will be his last, but the possibility of a final MSG appearance sent ticket sales soaring, with seats far from the floor selling for more than $500 and ones near the court going for thousands of dollars.
That, plus a nationally televised audience for the debut game of NBC’s “Sunday Night Basketball” schedule package, gave the game an even bigger feel that James’ usual trips. It was more competitive, too, as the Knicks late in his career are no longer the pushovers they were when his teams ruled the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks outscored the Lakers 38-26 in the third quarter, getting three straight transition baskets and then closing with 3-pointers by Shamet, Brunson and Anunoby in a 15-5 surge that sent them to the fourth with a 90-82 lead.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 13 rebounds after learning he was an All-Star reserve.
Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers, playing without James Harden, routed the Phoenix Suns, 117-93.
Leonard, who was left off the Western Conference All-Star reserves announced earlier Sunday, had eight rebounds as well as his 27th consecutive game with 20 or more points. Ivica Zubac had 20 rebounds as the Clippers bounced back from a loss at Denver on Friday and dominated the inside, outrebounding Phoenix 63-35 and outscoring the Suns 64-18 in the paint.
Jordan Miller had 20 points, John Collins 16, Zubac 14 and Kobe Sanders 12 for the Clippers, who shot 51.8% from the field. Sanders started for Harden, who missed the game for personal reasons.
Since starting the season 6-21, the Clippers have won 17 of 21 and are just two games under .500. The Suns had won three straight before Sunday, and are still 15-7 since Dec. 21.
Grayson Allen led the Suns with 23 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks scored 22 points. Phoenix shot just 33.3% from the field and was held under 100 points for just the sixth time in 50 games this season. Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin each finished with 12 points.
The Suns were without Devin Booker (right ankle sprain) and Jalen Green (right hamstring, left hip). Booker was selected as a reserve for his fifth All-Star Game earlier Sunday.
The teams split the season series 2-2.
