Lakers storm back, beat Knicks in OT for 8th straight win

Luka Doncic scored five of his 32 points in overtime, LeBron James added 31 points and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to extend their winning streak to eight games, beating the visiting New York Knicks 113-109 on Thursday.

Doncic added 12 assists and seven rebounds, while James had 12 rebounds and eight assists. Gabe Vincent finished with 12 points and Dalton Knecht added 11 as the Lakers improved to 18-3 since Jan 21.

The Lakers trailed by 10 points with 6:57 remaining in regulation before two 3-pointers from James and two from Vincent in the final 4:28 forced overtime. Doncic opened the extra session with five consecutive points and James sealed the victory with four free throws in the final 39 seconds.

Jalen Brunson scored eight of his 39 points in OT and finished 10 assists for the Knicks, who lost their second consecutive game and dropped the opener of a five-game West Coast road trip.

Brunson departed with 1:24 remaining in overtime due to a right ankle injury but remained in the game long enough to make two free throws and tie the game 107-all. The Lakers subsequently wrapped up the contest from the foul line.

OG Anunoby scored 20 points and Josh Hart added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 12 points and 14 rebounds after missing a game Tuesday for personal reasons.

The Knicks opened the fourth quarter with an 84-76 lead, but the Lakers cut the deficit to 90-85 with 5:59 remaining on a Vincent 3-pointer. James’ 3-pointer with 4:28 left got the Lakers within a point, and he made another with 1:51 remaining for a 96-96 tie.

After Brunson missed a 3-point attempt with 1:29 on the clock, a Vincent 3-pointer had the Lakers up 99-96 with 1:21 left. Brunson tied the game on a three-point play with 46.4 seconds remaining.

James missed a 3-point attempt with 11 seconds remaining in regulation before the Knicks failed to get off a shot in time, sending the game into OT.

The Lakers were up 31-27 at the end of the first quarter before the Knicks turned a 33-point second quarter into a 60-51 lead at halftime. Brunson had 16 points at the break, and Doncic had 18.

Los Angeles was 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range in the first half.

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