LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 13-point, second-half deficit to beat the New York Knicks 113-109 in an overtime thriller Thursday night.

The Lakers, winners of eight straight and 20 of their last 24, improved to 40-21 and maintained their No. 2 spot in the Western Conference. The Knicks dropped to 40-22 and are No. 3 in the East.

On a night when the Lakers’ supporting cast struggled to make shots through three quarters the team was carried by superstars Luka Dončić (32 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists) and LeBron James (31 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists).

New York’s Jalen Brunson, who suffered an ankle injury with 1:24 left in overtime and exited the game after making both free throws, had 39 points and 10 assists.

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The Knicks offense stagnated in the fourth quarter, scoring only 15 points as the Lakers rallied from an 8-point deficit. Gabe Vincent and James combined to make five 3-pointers over the final 5:59, helping L.A. turn that 8-point deficit into a 99-96 lead with 1:21 left. But two possessions later, Brunson drove and connected on an and-1 to tie the score at 99 with 46.1 seconds left.

The Lakers missed two 3-pointers — one by Dorian Finney-Smith and one by James — and then stifled the Knicks on the final possession. Los Angeles forced Brunson to catch a pass near half court and doubled him, leading Brunson to pass to Josh Hart. Hart then faced a wave of defenders, putting the ball on the floor and trying to get a shot up as time expired.

The Lakers carried their momentum into overtime, where Dončić drilled back-to-back jumpers over Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns — one midrange jumper near the free-throw line and a stepback 27-foot 3-pointer on the left wing — to give the Lakers a 104-99 lead. The Knicks briefly tied the score at 107 on the free throws after Brunson’s injury, but the Lakers largely controlled overtime.

Luka with the moonshot in OT! pic.twitter.com/MlylTwP501

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 7, 2025

The Knicks’ weird 2025 continued with their second straight loss, dropping them to 17-12 since the turn of the calendar year, but that pales in comparison to what happened to Brunson in overtime.

New York’s captain went up for a layup in the game’s final minutes and came down in pain, holding his right ankle. He stayed down for a while and was examined by a team trainer, head coach Tom Thibodeau and his father/assistant coach Rick Brunson. Once he got up, Brunson struggled to put pressure on his ankle. He shot the free throws, then hobbled to the locker room.

After the game, Thibodeau said Brunson was being examined.

How the Lakers pulled off their comeback

Hours before the comeback win, coach JJ Redick said concerns had popped up during the team’s then-seven-game win streak that he felt opponents might exploit.

Those worries were validated for much of the game, with the Knicks grabbing 14 offensive rebounds and forcing 16 Lakers turnovers and Brunson essentially dominating the Lakers defense all evening. All three were points of emphasis for Los Angeles entering the game. All three went against it.

But the team’s fourth-quarter rally showed the resilience it has developed over the past seven weeks to go 20-4 and have the best record in the league over that span. The Lakers have withstood test after test from several good and great opponents.

Thursday’s rally also showed L.A.’s increased margin for error — something Redick and James said this group didn’t have before the Dončić trade — with Dončić and James playing together. The Lakers offense was able to generate a slew of good looks, manipulating the Knicks defense until finding the right mismatch to exploit in critical moments.

So much has gone right for the Lakers lately that it felt like something inevitably had to go wrong soon. But for at least one more game, they found a way to overcome whatever obstacles were thrown their way. — Jovan Buha, Lakers beat writer

What went wrong for the Knicks?

New York led most of the night, but its struggling offense continued to show itself. The Knicks went 10 of 43 from 3. They have struggled to shoot the ball since Jan. 1, ranking in the bottom six in the league in 3-point percentage.

Their offense spent the first half of the season as one of the most efficient offenses in basketball, but things have changed over the past 30 games or so. New York also is near the bottom of the NBA in 3-point attempts since the beginning of the calendar year.

The Knicks’ shooting struggles and lack of creators outside of Brunson have taken a toll on the team down the season’s final stretch. Those aspects were critical to the Lakers’ ability to pull off their comeback. — James L. Edwards III, Knicks beat writer

Required reading

(Photo of Luka Dončić: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)