March 8, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) reach for the ball during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Luke Doncic scored 35 points as the Los Angeles Lakers endured some anxious moments in the fourth quarter with LeBron James on the line and recorded a 110-97 win over the visiting New York Knicks on Sunday.
James sat out Thursday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets with a bruised left elbow after absorbing contact from Nikola Jokic. The Lakers also said the 41-year-old missed the game due to arthritis in his left foot.
In addition to missing Friday’s win over the Pacers, this was the first time James has missed back-to-back games since the first 14 games of the season due to sciatica in his back and leg.
In James’ absence, Doncic scored 14 points in the third quarter as the Lakers outscored the Knicks 34-20. He shot 11-for-25 overall and made two 3-pointers during a 20-8 run in the final seven minutes of the third that turned a 68-61 lead into an 88-69 advantage entering the fourth.
The Lakers took a big lead until the fourth inning and then slugged for most of the quarter until the final minute. They missed 10 straight shots until Doncic made a layup for a 104-91 lead with 2:34 left, and the star guard capped the scoring with another 3 with 65 seconds left.
Austin Reaves added 25 goals and made a key defensive play against Jalen Brunson in the final minutes. Rui Hachimura again started for James and scored 13 points, while reserve Luke Kennard scored 12 while shooting 43.2 percent, including 7-for-24 in the fourth inning.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 25 points, including 11 in the fourth, and 16 rebounds. Brunson added 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists, but shot 8 of 19 from the field and committed seven of New York’s 19 turnovers.
The Knicks shot 42.7 percent and went 8 of 34 from behind the arc after hitting 18 3-pointers in a 12-point home win over the Lakers on Feb. 1.
Doncic scored 12 points in the opening quarter, which ended with the Lakers ahead 31-23 when Kennard sank a corner 3 with 13.9 seconds left. While Brunson was rested, the Lakers opened a 45-33 lead on Jarred Vanderbilt’s 3 with 7:32 left in the first half.
Following Vanderbilt’s 3, Los Angeles missed nine straight shots before Reaves beat the buzzer with an off-balance 5-footer to take a 54-49 lead at halftime. Los Angeles went on a 12-2 run on Reeves’ 3 with 8:18 left in the third quarter to take a 68-56 lead, then rallied less than a minute later after Hart cut the lead to seven points with a basket.
–Field level media
