CNN
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Hours after the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks met, one of the most shocking deals in NBA history fell as LA acquired superstar Luka Doncic on a three-team contract that rocked the league.
On Thursday, the two teams were facing each other again. This time at Crypto.com Arena in Angels, Doncic played the hero with the Knicks in overtime 113-109 for the Lakers.
With double-digit down in the fourth quarter, the Lakers completed the comeback behind Doncic and LeBron James Magic, forcing the OT.
Knicks All-Star point guard Jaren Branson became the team’s centerpiece while Los Angeles jumped to an early lead with an extra period.
However, with just one minute left, Branson drove into the basket and was fouled by Lakers guard Austin Reeves. The 28-year-old stayed on the ground and felt pain as the replay showed his ankle twist in the play.
Branson stayed in the game and filmed the next free throw, but then slowly limped into the locker room and did not return. He scored all eight of the Knicks’ points in overtime up to that point, finishing with 39 points and 10 assists.
After Branson’s departure, the Lakers made six free throws – James hit four times in the final 40 seconds, but secured the team’s eight straight wins, improving their record to 40-21 of the season.
Doncic finished with 32 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds and 4 steels, while James donated 31 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists.
The Slovenian star told TNT Broadcast after the game that it took “a lot” to defeat the Knicks.
“They’re a great team,” Doncic said. “They have great players, and that’s a tough win. Now we’ve got eight straight wins and every game is a fight for us.”
The loss was the Knicks’ second consecutive line as they fell 40-22 in the season. New York will perform that performance in the evening as they have multiple chances to win a showdown between two excellent teams in the league.
The Knicks controlled the game behind timely offense and defense. However, the brakes dropped completely as the Lakers ran in the fourth 10-1.
After Los Angeles took the lead for the first time in the second quarter, Branson did what he did all season: thriving with the clutch.
The second All-Star took the restrictions by backing up the game with 1 and 1 in 46 seconds.
After a defensive halt, the Knicks had a great chance to escape with victory, but forward Josh Hart failed to become the winner of the game before time ran out.
New York head coach Tom Thibodeau had no updates on Branson’s injuries, but he supplemented the team’s efforts and called it a “hard fate game.”
“I’ve been stretching,” Thibodeau told reporters. “There’s a lot of tough stuff – we couldn’t get to the loose ball, that’s what it is. Often, that’s the difference. Overall, I thought the first three-thirds of quarters were very good, so obviously we have to close better.”
The Knicks will visit Intute Dome on Friday to face the Clippers in Los Angeles and play the rear second half on Friday. The Lakers will begin a four-game road trip in Boston on Saturday night against longtime rival Celtics.
