The Lakers came away with a 113-105 win over the Knicks, although it wasn’t easy with Brunson making life difficult for the Purple and Gold. Even without OG Anunoby and Julius Randle, the ‘Bockers managed to stay in the game against the team led by LeBron and Anthony Davis thanks to their All-Star scorer.
Brunson totaled 36 points, six rebounds and 10 assists, finishing as the only 30-point scorer in the game. Meanwhile, James had 24 points, five rebounds and five dimes to lead the way for the Lakers, with Anthony Davis putting up 12 points, 18 rebounds and five assists.
In his postgame interview, James praised Brunson and emphasized that the Knicks star is playing beyond just an All-Star player. The Lakers forward detailed how difficult it was to slow down Brunson.
“Jalen is playing at a more than All-Star level this year. We know he’s the head of the snake, but we’re just trying to wear him down throughout the fourth quarter and get rebounds,” James shared, via New York Basketball.
“He Can Beat You: We’ve seen that in the fourth quarter this year in a lot of Knicks games where he’s exploded in the fourth quarter. So he tries to keep more bodies, keep changing the defense, don’t show him the same field. I think that helped a lot.”