Top defensive teams New York and Los Angeles meet
Los Angeles Lakers (33-20, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. New York Knicks (27-27, eighth in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Monday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Knicks -3; over/under is 205.5
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers square off in a meeting between the NBA's top two defenses.
The Knicks are 16-10 in home games. New York is last in the Eastern Conference with just 21.1 assists per game led by Julius Randle averaging 6.0.
The Lakers are 17-9 on the road. Los Angeles is ninth in the league scoring 13.9 fast break points per game. LeBron James leads the Lakers averaging 4.6.
The Knicks and Lakers match up Monday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Randle leads the Knicks with 10.7 rebounds and averages 22.8 points. RJ Barrett is averaging 18.8 points and 3.1 assists over the last 10 games for New York.
Dennis Schroder is third on the Lakers averaging 15.2 points while adding 3.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Montrezl Harrell is averaging 7.3 rebounds and 14.3 points per game over the last 10 games for Los Angeles.
LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 5-5, averaging 105.4 points, 44.2 rebounds, 21.5 assists, 8.1 steals and six blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.8 points on 43.4% shooting.
Lakers: 5-5, averaging 104.6 points, 44 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 10.1 steals and four blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 103.8 points on 45.3% shooting.
INJURIES: Knicks: John Henson: out (calf), Mitchell Robinson: out (ankle).
Lakers: LeBron James: out (ankle), Jared Dudley: out (knee), Kyle Kuzma: day to day (calf), Marc Gasol: day to day (hamstring), Wesley Matthews: day to day (achilles), Anthony Davis: out (achilles).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.