With time running out on the Lakers’ final possession, the greatest player of his generation drove to the basket like he has thousands of times before.
But the sequence went off script from there. Rather than add another game-winner to his already robust collection, LeBron James’ fadeaway was stopped by the right hand of Mario Hezonja, whose block sealed a stunning 124-123 New York victory.
“It bothers me that I didn’t make enough plays down the stretch,” said James, who had 33 points and eight assists, but shot just 4-of-15 in the fourth quarter. “It bothers me that I didn’t even get a shot up at the hoop. Of course that stuff bothers me.”
While that final attempt didn’t manifest for the Lakers (31-39), there was no second-guessing the decision to put the ball in their superstar’s hands.
Instead, the team needed to self-reflect on its inability to close out the NBA’s last-place team, as the Knicks (14-56) ended their eight-game losing streak by finishing the game on a 13-1 run.
The Lakers had an 11-point lead with 3:45 remaining but missed their final six shots from the field. On the other end, they surrendered second chances to New York, which took the edge for good on a pair of free throws from Emmanuel Mudiay — who had a team-high 28 points and eight assists — with 22 seconds left.
“It never comes down to that final play,” coach Luke Walton said. “More times than not LeBron’s gonna make that game-winner. It’s about the details of closing games out once you have that lead. It felt like we let our foot off the gas a little bit.”
James was reliable for the majority of the afternoon, reaching 30 points for the fourth time in five games. While he missed all six of his 3-point attempts, he was bullish at the rim, true from mid-range and able to draw plenty of contact (11-of-13 on free throws).
Meanwhile, Kyle Kuzma had himself a nice time making decisions for himself and others, tallying 18 points and eight assists.
Alex Caruso pitched in 12 points but was even more effective on the other end, racking up five steals and three blocks. He became just the fifth player in the NBA this season with those defensive numbers, and first Laker in five years.
But the Lakers needed much more on that side, as New York shot a season-high 57.9 percent from the field, plus 46.2 on 3-pointers.