Scenes from Isaiah Hartenstein owning the glass for the Knicks against L.A.

On Saturday, the New York Knicks (15-11) endured a beatdown by the Clippers at the Crypto.com Arena. The ‘Bockers hung around for the weekend and returned to the scene of the crime tonight, this time to face the banged-up Los Angeles Lakers (15-12).

In the fourth game of their road trip, the Knicks needed a win to break even—and they got it. Thanks to Isaiah Hartenstein (a career-high 17 rebounds), Julius Randle (a 27/14 double-double), Jalen Brunson (29 points) and Immanuel Quickley (20 points), New York held off a late push by LeBron James (25/10/11 triple-double) and Anthony Davis (32 points, 14 boards). Final score, 114-109. Looked something like this.

First Half

At the tip-off, Jericho Sims twisted his ankle coming down on Anthony Davis’ foot. He played through it, but left for the locker room after a few minutes and two fouls.

The Lakers are a top-ten defensive team, and the Knicks played with more handsy D than shown of late, too. As such, tonight’s game was a more pedestrian scoring affair than the previous two outings. Not until the 7:30 mark did the Knicks break double-digits and seize their first lead. Thanks to a 14-4 run, New York opened an eigth-point advantage and ultimately closed the first frame ahead, 35-27.

In Q1, Immanuel Quickley scored 11 points in five minutes off the bench. Julius Randle added 10.

Randle twisted his ankle in the first quarter and caught a bloody lip in the second. The former Laker went through the ringer tonight but, after missing five of his first six attempts, went a perfect six-for-six that helped the Knicks take a 12-point lead.

With Hartenstein needing a blow and Sims in the locker room, Taj Gibson played for three minutes in the half and grabbed three boards. Could still be a 40-minute game for Hartenstein. . . . Meanwhile, LeBron James had been dealing with a quad contusion and didn’t look sharp, missing three layups and chucking an airball in the first half. His teammates stepped up, however. Back in March, Taurean Prince posted 35 points and made all eight three-point attempts against the Knicks. Tonight, Prince was less perfect from deep (finished 3-of-11), but he, Austin Reaves, and Anthony Davis led a 19-6 march to halftime.

Once again, New York couldn’t close out the first half. Lakers up 58-57. Notables: L.A. took 54 field goal attempts to New York’s 45. The Knicks had surrendered eight turnovers and 14 fast-break points, and had shot 27% from deep (L.A., 39%). Surprisingly, New York had won the glass, 28-24, despite Anthony Davis recording 10 boards (and 13 points) in his 16 minutes.

Your first half shot-chart:

Second Half

Coming out of the locker room, LeBron logged five straight points to stretch the lead to six (then missed his fourth layup). A balanced offense provided the cure for New York, however, with Randle, Barrett, Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Hartenstein all bucketing over a nine-point turnaround. Quickley, too, shined in his minutes, and by closing the third quarter with a 15-2 run, New York entered Q4 with a ten-point advantage.

On the court, Jalen Brunson did his best to keep them at bay, but LeBron and A.D. gained ground, closing their deficit to four with under four minutes remaining. Julius Randle loves playing in the City of Angels, however. Over his previous four games, Julius had made only four of his 15 three-point attempts (27%). Through three quarters tonight, he had missed three more triples, but he converted a timely trey down the stretch. He finished with 43 minutes, 27 points, 14 boards, and three assists.

With Bron building a head of steam, the Knicks needed more than just Julius to win. Hartenstein was rock solid, logging a career-high 17 rebounds in 39 minutes against Davis; and Jalen Brunson, who was low-key through the first three quarters, found extra juice down the stretch. Things got dicey in the final minutes, but our heroes held on for the dub.

Up Next

Sam Stein is your night flier, landing a recap in the first rays of morn. As for the Knicks: next stop, Brooklyn on Wednesday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score