LeBron James will end up losing in his final NBA game at Madison Square Garden.
Buoyed by Luka Doncic’s 18 first-half points, the Los Angeles Lakers led the host New York Knicks 56-52 at halftime on Sunday night. But the Knicks went on a 13-5 run at the end of the third quarter to turn a tie into a 90-82 lead, and New York never gave up on their way to a 112-100 victory.
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The Knicks shot 18-for-42 (43%) from three-point range and had a balanced offense with six players scoring in double figures and three players scoring over 20 to secure the win. The win, New York’s sixth after a 2-9 streak, alarmed New York, which reportedly led to a player-only meeting hosted by team captain Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks currently have a record of 31 wins and 18 losses, tied with the Boston Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference, behind the first-place Detroit Pistons. The noise surrounding their January coma has dissipated.
The Knicks’ win could be James’ final game in basketball’s most iconic arena. If this is the case, James played strongly, scoring 22 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. He extended the Lakers’ lead with an alley-oop dunk early in the third quarter, one of his highlights of the season.
But it wasn’t enough to fend off a Knicks team recovering from an 11-game slump.
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James, 41, has yet to announce whether he will retire at the end of this season. But some speculate it could be his last. If so, he’s in the swing of the Eastern Conference and this could represent his final game in an opposing arena.
This story will be updated.
