It was too much Julius Randle and too much Knicks defense for the Lakers to handle.
The Lakers (33-21) are statistically the number one defense in the NBA – based on the most important defensive efficiency number in terms of points per 100 possessions. But Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks showed the Lakers in the Garden on Monday that numbers can sometimes lie.
Yes, it’s Lakers Lite, but Randle scored 34 points and the Knicks’ crushing defense stunned the gold-clad defending champion in a 111-96 victory. It was the Knicks’ third win in a row to raise their record to 28-27.
Randle punished his former team on a night on which the hot streak of RJ Barrett ended. Randle, who played four seasons for the Lakers and left when LeBron James arrived, shot 13 of 23. Randle said before the game that he “always” stands up for the Lakers.
Barrett was scoreless in the first half and finished with just seven points and went 2 of 11.
The Lakers are still without the injured Anthony Davis and James, who could be gone for another three weeks. But the Knicks stole 14 and center Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson combined five blocks.
There were many Lakers fans under the garden of 2,000 people with their jerseys and noise at hand. But the “MV-P” song late in the fourth quarter was for Randle – not James, with a serious thigh muscle.
Last Friday, the Knicks’ overall pick, Anthony Edwards, named the Knicks the toughest defense he has faced this season – better than the Lakers.
This is a sentiment that is growing. Thibodeau said before the game that their defensive image deserved the league’s respect.
“Overall, this is an important step that our team needs to take to start our defense,” Thibodeau said before the game. “And we wanted it to be a big part of our foundation. And hopefully this is something you can rely on every night, is your defense, your bounce and your turnover. ‘
Randle, the former Lakers lottery player, hit his first four strokes and scored 19 points in the first half. He was 7 of 11 off the field as the Knicks led 55-52 at halftime.
The already battered Lakers played alongside Denis Schroder, who is the free agent. Despite a pelvic injury, a bumpy Schroder with his dribble penetration scored 16 points in the half and finished with 21 points. The Knicks will likely be interested in Schroder this summer.
Barrett was scoreless in the first half and scored 0-for-6, 0-for-2 from 3-point. Only Randle shot a 3-point lead in the first half, but their defense was good enough to take the lead.
The Knicks also got productive play from point guard Elfrid Payton, who got hot late in the half with his penetration drivers and finished with 20 points to make up Barrett’s no-show.