Knicks offense completely unravels in letdown loss to LeBron James-less Lakers

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Knicks offense completely unravels in letdown loss to LeBron James-less Lakers

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Jalen Brunson in a blue New York Knicks jersey, black compression tights, and pink sneakers on the basketball court, Image 2 shows Luka Doncic looks on during the Lakers-Knicks game on March 8, 2026, Image 3 shows Mikal Bridges dribbles during the Knicks-Lakers game on March 8, 2026

Stefan Bondy · NY Post Sports

Sun, Mar 8, 2026 ·

3 min read

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LOS ANGELES — The Knicks played like they forgot about daylight saving time.

Misfiring early and until it was too late in the fourth quarter, Jalen Brunson 's squad finished an ugly 110-97 defeat to the LeBron -less Lakers while getting torched by Luka Doncic and launching Mike Brown into a list of grievances in his postgame news conference.

Specifically, the coach wasn't happy with the lazy fouling, the lazy rebounding and head-scratching turnovers.

Jalen Brunson looks on during the Knicks-Lakers game on March 8, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images

There was a lot of laziness from the Knicks, who were an hour behind on a sunny afternoon in California.

"That's a recipe to getting your behind kicked," Brown said. "Especially on the road. If you're going to get beat on the glass without boxing out, which we did. If you're going to reach because you can't contain the basketball, and then committing 18 turnovers — that's a recipe for disaster on the road no matter who you're playing."

Mikal Bridges lowlighted the struggles with zero points in 27 minutes, although his nasty stat line was more a product of passivity (he only took six shots) than rampant inefficiency. Like a few of his teammates, Bridges was sapped by foul trouble. And the rest of the Knicks took care of the misses. They shot, as a team, just 23.5 percent on 34 3-point attempts. They sent the Lakers to the line for 30 free-throw attempts. Brunson was sloppy with seven of the team's 18 turnovers.

"Those are the things we can control, obviously, they have to be nonnegotiables," Brunson said. "I'm at fault. We pride ourselves on the little things and we didn't do any of them."

The point guard, who had been adopting more of a facilitator role lately, scored 24 points in 42 minutes and struggled without much help.

Brunson's missed runner with just over three minutes remaining — with the Knicks trailing by 11 — probably sealed the defeat. If not, his miss on the following possession put the nail in the coffin — or maybe it was his turnover about a minute later.

Mikal Bridges dribbles during the Knicks-Lakers game on March 8, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images

"One-hundred percent [we were a step slow], in everything," Brown said. "Not just guarding the basketball. When we guarded the ball, we tried to make up for it with a crazy reach. Thirty free-throw attempts is crazy. The way we sent them to the line, too. And we kept leaving our feet with the ball. Eighteen turnovers on the road. This is not a knock on [the Lakers] at all, but they're not going to trap or double-team or all that stuff. We get in the paint and we jump in the air and turn the ball over."

The Knicks (41-24) arrived at Crypto.com Arena with a fully healthy roster and coming off a dominant win in Denver , a 39-point blowout headlined by OG Anunoby 's two-way masterpiece.

Anunoby's follow-up in Los Angeles was a ho-hum 13 points, while failing frequently at guarding Doncic (35 points, eight assists).

Luka Doncic looks on during the Lakers-Knicks game on March 8, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images

The Lakers (39-25) were missing James, who was a late scratch because of a lingering foot issue. It might have been LeBron's last chance to play the Knicks as a Laker, and maybe ever depending on his retirement decision. He watched the afternoon victory in street clothes from the bench.

The Knicks misfired early, making just one of their first 12 treys as they fell in a 13-point hole midway through the second quarter.

They never really recovered, trailing for all of the final three quarters.

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