Knicks at Lakers
THE STORY: The New York Knicks rallied from a late 10-point deficit to open the season with a gutty 106-104 victory over the Boston Celtics on Christmas. The Knicks lost some of that electricity after suffering a 92-78 loss at the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. They head to southern California on Thursday to face the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that has been a thorn to the Knicks in recent seasons by winning eight in a row. The Lakers avoided their first 0-3 start since 1978-79 with a 96-71 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. That contest ended the Lakers’ stretch of three games is as many nights. New York will play the first of 21 back-to-backs on Thursday and will need much more production from Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, who combined to go 8 of 27 from the field Wednesday. “The whole game our offense was awful,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We weren’t in sync, we didn’t make shots, we turned the ball over and we gave them layups. Whatever kind of mistakes you can make, we made. It was awful.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE KNICKS (1-1): This tells you about all you need to know of the Knicks’ performance at Golden State: Landry Fields led the team in scoring with 14 points, 13 in the first half. The Knicks were outscored 28-6 to start the fourth quarter. PG Jeremy Lin, who was claimed off waivers by the Knicks on Tuesday, saw his first action against his former team. D’Antoni said Lin could see more time as he learns the playbook. “He’s from Harvard. It will take him about an hour and a half,” D’Antoni said.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (1-2): The Lakers actually got a day off after their rugged start and should be happy to see the Knicks, a team they haven’t lost to since Feb. 13, 2007. In that time, Kobe Bryant has averaged an impressive 34.1 points against the Knicks, his highest average against any opponent. “We're a very active team,” Bryant said. “This is a blue-collar team. We're a scrappy bunch. We're going to fight and scratch and claw for everything, as it should be. That'll get us by.”
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Knicks lost by an average of 19.5 points in two games last season against the Lakers.
2. The Lakers are 9-3 all-time at Staples Center against the Knicks.
3. Stoudemire averaged 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds against the Lakers last season.