Los Angeles - Evan Fournier scored 26 points and Immanuel Quickley put up 12 of his 14 in the fourth quarter on Tuesday as the New York Knicks thwarted the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers' comeback bid in a 106-100 NBA victory.
The Lakers, playing without suspended superstar LeBron James, trailed by 25 in the second quarter.
They rallied to tie the score twice in the third period, but never managed to get in front despite a triple-double of 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists from Russell Westbrook.
The Knicks scored 36 points in the first quarter, but the Lakers closed the first half on a 16-4 scoring run and opened the third period with a 9-0 run to make it close.
They tied it at 79-79 on Carmelo Anthony's dunk, and Westbrook tied it again at 81-81 with a driving layup.
But with Knicks star Julius Randle -- who scored 20 points with 16 rebounds -- in late foul trouble, Quickley stepped up for New York, hitting four three-pointers in the final quarter as the hosts held on for the win.
"Big shotmaker," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Quickley. "It's interesting, in the beginning of the year he started off and wasn't making it and it didn't faze him one bit."
"If they're in and out, he's always thinking the next one is going in. Great shooters have short memories. He does," Thibodeau added.
Fournier said plays down the stretch kept the Knicks in it, but he added that losing the big lead before hanging on for the win was a "perfect example" of the inconsistency that has hindered the Knicks.
"We are very capable of playing really, really good basketball, getting big leads and all of a sudden not so well," he said. "Then they get confident, we lose rhythm and we let them back into the game."
James was serving a one-game suspension after a bloody clash with Detroit's Isaiah Stewart on Sunday.
James was ejected after "recklessly" lashing out at Stewart, leaving him with blood pouring from a facial injury. Stewart was suspended for two games for repeatedly going after James in the wake of the clash.
Lakers star Anthony Davis, playing through illness, scored 20 points and pulled down six rebounds, Avery Bradley delivered 15 points for the Lakers and former Knick Carmelo Anthony added 12 as the Lakers lost for the fourth time in five games.
As the Lakers continued their road trip, there was drama back in Los Angeles, where the Dallas Mavericks emerged from a back-and-forth battle with a 112-104 overtime victory over the Clippers.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points and Luka Doncic -- back in action after missing three games with knee and ankle injuries -- added 26 for the Mavericks, who led by 10 with less than four minutes left in regulation.
Clippers forward Paul George fired a three-pointer from the corner over the outstretched arms of Terance Mann to tie the score at time expired in regulation.
But the Mavericks dominated overtime, outscoring the Clippers 9-1 with the aid of six points from Porzingis to seal the victory.
- Herro ball -
In Detroit, Tyler Herro scored 31 points and pulled down eight rebounds off the bench as the Miami Heat rallied for a 100-92 victory over the Pistons to launch a four-game road trip.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo added 15 points apiece for the Heat, who trailed by nine going into the fourth quarter.
Herro's jump shot with 8:09 to play gave the Heat their first lead since the first quarter, and they pulled away from there.
Jerami Grant had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Pistons, who had led the Lakers by 15 after three quarters on Sunday only to come up empty.
In Portland, CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Damian Lillard added 25 as the Trail Blazers beat Denver 119-100, dealing the Nuggets their fifth straight defeat.
AFP