Lakers can’t take care of ball in loss to Knicks

Turnovers continue to be a problem for the Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers were no match for the best team in New York on Monday, as they fell to the Knicks 111-96 at Madison Square Garden.

Turnovers were the story of the game for the Lakers once again in this one. As a team, they turned the ball over 24 times and the Knicks scored 29 points off of those turnovers. Dennis Schröder led the team with five turnovers.

The Lakers have now turned the ball over at least 20 times in 10 games this season. Going into Monday night’s game, they ranked last in the NBA in turnovers per game with 15.7.

When the Lakers did have the ball, they weren’t able to do much with it. That was especially true in the third quarter, when they were held scoreless for over five minutes. Some of that had to do with the Knicks’ defense, but it also just wasn’t the Lakers’ night.

Dennis Schröder led the Lakers with 21 points. Julius Randle, who the Lakers drafted with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, led all scorers with 34 points.

The Lakers made a small, 8-0 run at the end of the fourth quarter, when Marc Gasol checked in, but it was too little, too late for Los Angeles in the end. Gasol ended his brief stint with 3 points and a +2 plus-minus, the latter of which led all centers. Alternatively, Kyle Kuzma, who made his return from injury on Monday night, finished the night with a game-low plus-minus of -26.

Even with their latest loss, the Lakers are still firmly slotted at the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference with 1.5 games separating them from the No. 6 seed Portland Trail Blazers. They’ll look to end their road trip on a high note Tuesday night, when they’ll take on the Charlotte Hornets for the second and final time this season.

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