The Los Angeles Lakers demonstrate their grit and teamwork in a thrilling overtime victory against the New York Knicks. (AP/Mark J. Terrill)
- Lakers showcase resilience, rallying from double-digit deficit to secure overtime win against Knicks.
- Doncic and James combine for 63 points, while role players step up in crucial moments for Lakers' victory.
- Lakers face challenging road trip against top NBA teams, testing their postseason potential.
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LOS ANGELES — It is fitting that in a town built on movies and television, JJ Redick likes to use a popular directing term to refer to different moments in his first season as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
On Thursday night, the Lakers provided Redick with another memorable callback moment.
Los Angeles began a stretch of five games against some of the top teams in the NBA with a 113-109 overtime victory over the New York Knicks.
The Lakers have won eight straight and are second in the Western Conference at 40-21.
“Our guys, in what felt like a playoff game at times, really just gutted out a win,” Redick said.
The Lakers trailed by double digits midway through the fourth quarter, but rallied to force overtime. It was tied at 107 — on free throws by injured Knicks star Jalen Brunson — late in the extra session before Los Angeles closed it out with a 6-2 run.
“We haven’t had many of those games because frankly, we’ve had the lead a lot lately,” Redick said. “I think it’s a good reminder for our group going forward that we can win games like this where we’re not at our best offensively, where we get off to a slow start defensively but we have enough toughness and grit to get these games.”
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Doncic and James Lead Scoring Effort
On a night when Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 32 points and LeBron James added 31, it was other players who also stepped up when needed.
Gabe Vincent made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and Jaxson Hayes made a pair of free throws to give the Lakers a 109-107 lead. Austin Reaves was 2 of 13 from the field after missing two games due to a right calf sprain, but hit a 3-pointer in overtime.
“A lot. I think Gabe won us the game with those 3s in the fourth quarter. That was huge for us,” Doncic said. “That is how we got the energy up, that is how we got the crowd in.
“To win these types of games, especially at home, you build more chemistry.”
Tough Road Ahead for Lakers
The Lakers have won nine of 11 since Doncic made his LA debut on Feb. 10 and 20 of their last 24. But this stretch could provide a clearer picture of how much of a factor they can be in the postseason.
Los Angeles hits the road for four tough games. It begins on Saturday night with a nationally-televised game against Boston, followed by a visit to Brooklyn on Monday. After that is a back-to-back set on March 13 and 14 against Milwaukee and Denver.
“I think we’re just holding each other accountable. We want to get better,” James said. “So, guys are buying into what JJ and the coaches give us every single night. Our keys to success, our keys to goals and then we just try to go out and execute that. It’s close to 48 minutes or 53, like I said tonight, and (we) live with the results.”
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