Rose guides Knicks past Lakers
LOS ANGELES -- Point guard Derrick Rose returned to the New York Knicks' lineup Sunday and torched the Los Angeles Lakers' backcourt for 25 points, sparking a 118-112 victory over the Lakers at Staples Center.
Rose missed the previous two games with back pain but hit 12 of 16 shots from the field against the Lakers. On an off night for Carmelo Anthony (13 points on 4-of-16 shooting), Kristaps Porzingis led the Knicks in scoring with 26 points, adding 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
Brandon Jennings came off the bench to score 19 crucial points for the Knicks (14-10). It is the first time New York is four games over .500 since Phil Jackson was hired as president of basketball operations in March 2014.
Jackson's former team, meanwhile, fell to 10-16 with their sixth consecutive defeat. After starting the season 4-1 at home (including a win over the defending Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors), the Lakers have lost four of their past five at Staples Center.
The Lakers had five players score in double figures, led by Lou Williams with 24. Luol Deng added 22, while Julius Randle contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Rose showed no signs of rust from his two-game absence caused by a sore back. He didn't miss a shot from the field until the final minute of the first half, going 8 of 8 before that and scoring 17 first-half points to drive the Knicks to a one-point lead at intermission.
The Lakers didn't get the same kind of infusion from their two returning guards. D'Angelo Russell (knee) and Nick Young (calf) each returned to the lineup Sunday after extended down time.
It showed with Russell. He missed all five of his shots in the first quarter (though he did have three assists) and then sat out the second quarter as Lakers coach Luke Walton opted to limit his minutes in the first of back-to-back games. Russell finished with just three points in 17 minutes.
Young, on the other hand, came out firing and matched Lou Williams with 12 first-half points to lead the Lakers' scoring. Young finished with 15 points.
Defense kept Los Angeles in the game in the first half. The Knicks shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the first quarter but went just 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) in the second quarter, allowing the Lakers to trim what was once a nine-point lead down to one on Randle's buzzer-beating runner.
Anthony was just 1 of 7 in the half, missing badly on a number of jump shots, but he already had a season-high five assists by halftime. He wound up with seven assists.
Rose and Porzingis combined for nine of the Knicks' points during an 11-0 run late in the third quarter but New York couldn't consolidate its advantage. The Lakers hit five of their first seven shots in the fourth quarter and pulled back within 88-87 on a hook shot by Larry Nance Jr. with about eight minutes left to play.
That was the Lakers' last threat. Jennings was the pivotal player in a 14-5 run for the Knicks that put them back in charge to stay. Jennings scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, going 3 of 3 from three-point range. But it was a running floater in the lane by Rose with 19 seconds left that sealed the game.
NOTES: The Lakers got guards D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young back Sunday. Russell returned after missing 12 games with a sore left knee. Russell received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the issue. The Lakers lost nine of the 12 games Russell missed. Young sat out six of the previous eight games with a right calf injury. ... Lakers G Jose Calderon (hamstring strain) and C Tarik Black (sprained ankle) remain out but are expected to travel with the team when it starts a five-game road trip in Sacramento on Monday. ... The Knicks practiced at USC's Galen Center on Saturday and president of basketball operations Phil Jackson spoke to the team. Jackson does not travel with the Knicks but still maintains a home in the Los Angeles area. He met with F Carmelo Anthony Saturday in an attempt to clear the air after he was quoted criticizing Anthony's play in the Knicks' triangle offense.