NEW YORK _ The only Big Baller at Madison Square Garden was Kristaps Porzingis. Lonzo Ball wasn't even the best rookie point guard down the stretch on Tuesday night.
With LaVar Ball jawing and Spike Lee smack-talking courtside, Porzingis dropped a game-high 37 points and got a big boost from Frank Ntilikina (13 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Michael Beasley down the stretch, securing a 113-109 victory overtime victory over the Lakers.
Lonzo finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but had zero field goals and one assist in the fourth quarter and overtime. He was outscored 7-2 during that stretch by Ntilikina, who was drafted six spots after Lonzo.
The Ball family showed up at the Garden to watch Lonzo, including the younger sons _ LiAngelo, 19 and LaMelo, 16 _ who a day earlier signed with a professional team in Lithuania. They got the star treatment with Amar'e Stoudemire and Odell Beckham Jr. stopping by their seats. Despite a strong number of Lonzo jerseys in the crowd, the point guard was booed early.
LaVar's presence brought an added layer of excitement to the atmosphere, but the game was a drag until midway through the third quarter. That's when Lonzo scored seven straight Laker points, starting with a one-handed alley-oop jam.
His father reacted as you might expect _ rising from his seat, flailing his arms, taunting the crowd. The problem for the Lakers and the Balls, however, was Porzingis matched the output on the other end.
The Latvian had 12 points in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers during Lonzo's outburst. Still, they blew an opportunity to win in regulation by unimaginatively forcing the ball to Porzingis.
With a 3-point lead and 30 seconds remaining, Porzingis was doubled under the basket and _ instead of looking for an outlet _ threw up a shot that didn't even hit rim.
The Lakers' Kyle Kuzma then buried the game-tying trey in transition, a wide open look. On the ensuing possession, the Knicks again force fed Porzingis the ball on the perimeter and his potential game-winner was an off-balance, contested look that was off line.
The sequence transitioned to the first overtime of the season for New York (14-13), which turned into the Beasley show. Just two nights earlier, the Knicks reserved fouled out in 10 minutes. Against the Lakers (10-16), he scored 12 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Lakers coach Bill Walton said the strategy was to crowd Porzingis' space. For three quarters, it either didn't work or wasn't executed. Porzingis had a tougher time down the stretch, as he shot just 3 for 10 after the third.
"Be aggressive, but don't foul," Walton said. "He's a very talented player, he's a great scorer. We need to make him work for his points and not give him free ones. It's a challenge, especially when you haven't played somebody before, like some of our guys that are going to be matched up on him will, to not let him just rise up and shoot, but at the same time not to get their hands in there and reach at all. We just have to keep our chests on him and if he makes a shot, he makes it. We get back on defense and just make him work on everything."
