Knicks at Lakers
LeBron James will sit out his fifth consecutive game when the Los Angeles Lakers host the slumping New York Knicks on Friday. James strained his left groin in a Christmas Day win over the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles has gone 1-3 without him.
The Lakers are hopeful that James' absence won't last more than another week and he was certainly missed in Wednesday's 107-100 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "All four games we've had since LeBron's been out we've had leads," guard Josh Hart told reporters. "We've been playing well. Really they've all been one- or two-possession games we could've - and a couple we should've - won." New York is plunging downward with eight straight setbacks and 13 in its last 14 games after dropping a 115-108 road decision against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. "I'm very sad seeing my teammates out there losing," recently demoted backup center Enes Kanter told reporters after contributing 17 points and 12 rebounds. "I hate losing, man. I'm not going to accept losing. Every time I'm out there I'm trying my best to get a win."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (9-29): Forward Kevin Knox was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for December and his best outing of the month was when he matched his season high of 26 points and collected a season-best 15 rebounds against the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 9. The performance made the 19-year-old just the second teenager in NBA history to record at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in a game, the other being James, who Knox was looking forward to playing against prior to James' injury. "He's got a lot of years left," Knox, who is averaging 12.2 points, told reporters after a practice at UCLA on Thursday. "I'll probably see him down the road sometime, so it's not the only time I'll get to play him."
ABOUT THE LAKERS (21-17): Los Angeles forward Kyle Kuzma was diagnosed with a lower back contusion after undergoing an MRI exam on Thursday after leaving the previous night's game against the Thunder. Kuzma was listed as questionable by the team and it may come down to how he feels at the mid-day shootaround - or even pregame warm-ups - before a decision is made on his playing availability. Kuzma, who averages 18.3 points per game, had just four points in 16 minutes before departing after scoring at least 20 points in 11 of the previous 15 games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split last season's two meetings.
2. New York PF Luke Kornet scored 19 points against Denver and is averaging 18.7 points over the last three games.
3. Los Angeles SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 points against the Thunder, one shy of his season high notched against the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 30.