– Benches battled
One of the biggest takeaways from this game was how well the benches performed for both the Knicks and the Lakers. The two teams combined to have six players score in double figures off the bench. When it came down to crunch time minutes in the fourth quarter, players from the bench played a noticeable part in the game.
For the Knicks, they received some excellent production from their bench, as Michael Beasley, Kyle O’Quinn, Doug McDermott and Frank Ntilikina all played well. In the fourth quarter and overtime, it was Beasley, McDermott, and Ntilikina on the floor for the Knicks, and they performed well.
Both Beasley and Ntilikina hit some clutch shots for the Knicks down the stretch, as they combined for 26 points in the win.
For the Lakers, their bench unit played like fans have come to expect from them. The three-headed monster of Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle went toe-to-toe with the bench unit of the Knicks.
That trio for the Lakers combined to score 42 points, as all three of them played quite well. On Tuesday, it was very clear that both the Lakers and the Knicks have some of the most talented bench units in the NBA, as a good amount of the players down the stretch were not the same players that started the game.