Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks Preview: Odds, Tips, and Prediction

The New York Knicks have only two losses in their five NBA games, and they are on a two-game winning streak. This has put them a distant third ahead of the third place, Milwaukee Bucks.

A positive result against the Lakers will see them neck and neck with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings, indicating they are a serious playoff contender.

They defeated the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks 99-95 and 119- 110, respectively, but fell short to the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-99. Tom Thibodeau’s side prides themselves on 64.4% victory percentage and a 14-8 home record.

The New York-based team lost this fixture last season. They were in a better position for the win after going down in the first quarter 27-25 but switched off in the fourth quarter, where the visitors outscored 33-19. They hope to do things differently, especially with a much different roster this time.

Los Angeles Lakers will be more desperate to win as they want to improve their records on the road. Coming to this match, they have a 24-18 record and 109.2 points per game.

They beat their arch-rivals, the Celtics, at home 117-96, where they dominated 3 of the 4 quarters. Before that, they defeated the Wizards (111-88) and Nets (102-101) but lost to the Clippers (116-102).

Their performances have been fairly average this season, as indicated by their victory percentage of 57.1%. Most of their games against top sides have always not gone in their favour result-wise. This shows that there’s more to be done if they want to be playoff contenders.

The Laker’s victory over the Knicks last time out shows that they can always fight their way back into the game despite trailing. JJ Redick’s side hopes to build on their recent positive results when they meet at Madison Square Garden on Feb 1, 2025.

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers//Getty Images