Lakers Prove Against Knicks They Can Achieve Gritty Defensive Wins

Lakers halfway Jaxson Hayes, left, dives for a loose shot adjacent to Knicks guardant OG Anunoby successful nan first half Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Hayes crawled crossed nan level for loose balls. Marcus Smart stepped successful beforehand of driving opponents. Jarred Vanderbilt leaped into nan laps of front-row fans.

With power and attraction from each player, nan Lakers delivered 1 of their champion protect efforts of nan play contempt circumstances that could person made Sunday’s crippled a snoozer.

The Lakers were playing their 3rd crippled successful 4 days. Losing an hr of slumber because of daylight redeeming clip had Rui Hachimura sleepwalking into nan arena Sunday greeting for a 12:30 p.m. tip. Hoping to aftermath himself up, nan Lakers guardant said he sewage into nan basking tub erstwhile he arrived.

Players tried to hype themselves up successful nan locker room by blasting music. Instead of listing 3 protect keys earlier nan game, coaches whittled nan crippled scheme to 1 focus: aggregate efforts.

“It wasn’t gonna beryllium an violative game,” coach JJ Redick said. “This was gonna beryllium a gritty, reliable crippled that we had to triumph pinch effort. And we did that.”

Smart led that effort pinch a game-high plus-27 successful 29 minutes and 17 seconds. He drew 2 charges. His signature infinitesimal didn’t moreover show up successful nan crippled play-by-play. After Luka Doncic turned nan shot complete pinch 2.2 seconds remaining successful nan 3rd quarter, Smart hustled backmost to unit Jordan Clarkson to walk nan shot astatine nan buzzer, keeping nan Knicks from getting a last-second layup attempt. Smart walked to nan chair pinch his arms extended for illustration a protect backmost who had conscionable surgery up a touchdown pass.

The Knicks were held to little than 100 points for only nan seventh clip and had their fourth-worst three-point shooting capacity of nan season, going 8 for 34. The Lakers went astir 5 minutes without scoring successful nan 4th quarter, but held connected by forcing 8 turnovers.

“It was not a cleanable game,” said Doncic, who led nan Lakers pinch 35 points connected 11-for-25 shooting. “But we conflict astatine nan protect end. I deliberation we did a awesome job. It says a batch astir nan team, bringing this overmuch power successful a crippled for illustration this.”