From the above article:

But on Thursday, the Lakers faced their first bout of adversity, and more notably, their first bout of adversity with Dončić against a good team. (They lost to Utah and Charlotte with Dončić, but those were the second and third games of his tenure, with both sides still adjusting to one another.)

The Lakers trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter and 10 points in the fourth quarter to the Knicks, a group desperate to disprove the notion that they can’t beat the league’s elite. Los Angeles’ supporting cast struggled through the first three quarters and combined to shoot just 6-of-17 in the first half. They missed Rui Hachimura, their fourth option offensively and an important frontcourt piece. And despite Austin Reaves’ return from a calf strain technically being a positive, he struggled on both sides of the floor, getting benched for most of the fourth quarter and finishing with eight points (2-of-13 shooting) and six rebounds.

JJ Redick identified three points of emphasis pregame: transition defense, defensive rebounding and containing Jalen Brunson. The Lakers went 0-for-3, allowing 17 fast-break points, 14 offensive rebounds and Brunson to eviscerate them for 39 points and 10 assists.

But as they’ve done numerous times over the past two months, the Lakers found a way to win, beating New York 113-109 in overtime to improve to 40-21 and maintain their No. 2 spot in the Western Conference. They’ve won eight straight games and 20 of 24, the best record in the NBA over that stretch.

“Our guys, in what felt like a playoff game at times, really just gutted out a win,” Redick said.

For most of the first three quarters, the Lakers were carried by their superstars, Dončić and LeBron James. The two finished with notable performances, Dončić posting 32 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists and four steals, and LeBron James finishing with 31 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in a team-high 44 minutes.

But late in the third and fourth quarters, it was the Lakers’ defense — which James and Dončić were important parts of — and their supporting cast that carried the way.

The Lakers held the Knicks to 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting. They had more turnovers (five) than assists (three). Brunson, who badly sprained his ankle with 1:24 left in overtime, went just 2-of-6 in the final frame as the Lakers sent waves of help at him in isolations and pick-and-rolls.

On the final possession of regulation, the Lakers forced Brunson to catch his setup pass near halfcourt, doubling him and forcing him to give up the ball to Josh Hart, who couldn’t get a shot up before the game clock expired. In overtime, the Lakers held the Knicks to 2-of-10 shooting.

“The defense gave up 15 points in the fourth quarter, and we hang our hats there when we weren’t shooting the ball well,” James said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well for quite a while. Especially from the 3-point arc. But we laid our hat on our defense, and then those outside shots started to flow.”

Rookie Dalton Knecht, who has found a groove over the past few games, made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter and give the Lakers some much-needed momentum. He scored on a drive over Karl-Anthony Towns in the fourth, an important bucket in a low-scoring frame. Knecht had 11 points, one of only four Lakers to crack double figures.

But Gabe Vincent, who entered the game having shot just 6-of-35 on 3-pointers in his previous seven games, was the fourth-quarter hero, making three 3-pointers over the final 5:59 to help the Lakers tie the game — and briefly take the lead — before going to overtime. He scored 12 points, going 4-of-4 on 3s in the second half.

“I think Gabe (Vincent) won the game with those three 3s in the fourth quarter,” Dončić said.

Once the game was close, the Lakers used two of the biggest clutch-time cheat codes in James and Dončić’s heroic shot-making. James drilled two 3s late in the fourth as the Lakers traded baskets with the Knicks. Dončić sealed the win by opening overtime with two jumpers, both out of hunting Towns, to give the Lakers a 104-99 lead.

A combination of resilience, playing harder than their opponents and outstanding shot-making and playmaking from their superstars has combined to make the Lakers look like a juggernaut on most nights. That wasn’t the case against the Knicks, but the Lakers will still take the win in a Western Conference playoff race that’ll likely come down to the final day of the regular season.

NBA coach of the year and Lakers coach of the future!
Man, I’m so happy that JJ is head coach of the Lakers.

Stephen A. Smith confirms that LeBron James confronted him about things Smith has said about his son, Bronny, while on television: “That was LeBron James making sure that I mind what I say about [Bronny]… That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me, that was a parent, that… pic.twitter.com/VVYz0hFQVB— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) March 7, 2025

These keyboard warriors are turning into pussies when confronted man to man.Keep the same energy pussy @stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/5d3Vgx5iL1— Ryan Rueda (@iDude14) March 7, 2025

Looks like this is when Stephen A REALLY pissed LeBron off… back in January pic.twitter.com/B309ZIC7Hp— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) March 7, 2025

LeBron fully accepted the task of guarding Towns last night…10.5 minutes matchedKAT: 5 points, 0 assistsNYK: only 44 pointsTowns had 30 rebound chances, but finished with only 14, as LeBron led the game in box outs. LeDPOY came up huge in the comeback win. pic.twitter.com/wTtxC0OkAw— moose / lebron is 1st-team (@roadto80pct) March 7, 2025

Laker defense held the Knicks to 49 points in the second half & OT— Jamaican King ✝️🇯🇲 (@_karateChris) March 7, 2025

Great defense from Luka pic.twitter.com/7mobHApWdl— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) March 7, 2025

lol the Lakers having the fourth best record in the NBA already after this deal is just legit laugh out loud funny. It being on the back of the defense, though, is what should worry the other teams in the league.— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 7, 2025

Great half court defense by the Lakers on the KnicksLeBron is up guarding KAT making them rotate the ball, everyone was engaged and created the turn over, JJ Redick will be very happy about that pic.twitter.com/Xu875jUvA2— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) March 7, 2025

From the above article:

The Lakers look drastically different from the last time they played the Knicks, but the results were the same.

“Our guys just stayed the course and refused to give in and let go of the rope,” Redick said. “Seemed like [Jalen] Brunson had an answer for everything. He was fantastic tonight. And our guys, in what felt like a playoff game at times, really just gutted out a win.”

In the first half, a victory looked like a pipe dream. LA was thoroughly outplayed and their 3-point shot was ice cold. The Lakers were 3-16 from deep after two quarters and trailed 60-51.

Even the stadium wasn’t in their favor as the New York fans arrived in droves. You could audibly hear MVP chants every time Jalen Brunson took free throws and echoes of “Duce!” every time Knicks guard Miles McBride took a deep shot.

With 17 turnovers on the night and Austin Reaves notably rusty after returning from a calf injury, it looked like this wouldn’t be LA’s night. The Knicks are a good team and with shots not falling, there’s no shame in losing.

However, the Lakers never gave in to that kind of thinking.

It was heard on the ESPN broadcast that during a timeout as coach JJ Redick told his players, “We’re gonna make our run. Keep our poise.”

And then it finally happened.

To end the third quarter, Knecht hit a 3-pointer, bringing the Lakers within single digits. In the fourth, momentum shifted as Reaves knocked down a corner three. Later in the period, Gabe Vincent converted on a 3-pointer to complete the comeback and take the lead with 1:21 minutes left to play.

The Lakers needed overtime to get the job done, but Luka came out blazing to start the extra session, scoring five straight points. On his three that forced New York to call timeout, he was as demonstartive as can be, yelling after the clutch shot and sensing the victory was closing in.

Luka and LeBron in the last 7 games:27.7 PPG 28.0 PPG9.3 APG 11.0 RPG8.7 RPG 5.7 APG2.4 SPG 1.1 BPG0.6 BPG 1.0 SPG7-0 record 👀🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/CESgXZiXu0— BronMuse (@BronMuse) March 7, 2025

Lakers are at 10 consecutive wins against teams above .500 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0rAVRiWHnw— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) March 7, 2025

Lakers are 20-4 in their last 24 games and also on a 8 game winning streak! What’s the ceiling for this team? #lakeshow pic.twitter.com/PKz1ifVRdp— Earl Ross (@PlayoffEarl) March 7, 2025

Best record in the NBA since Jan 15th, 2025 @statmuse1. Lakers (20-4)2. Thunder (18-5)3. Cavaliers (18-5)4. Celtics (17-7)5. Nuggets (16-7)6. Knicks (14-7)7. Warriors (16-8)8. Bucks (15-8) pic.twitter.com/N07If2dupD— BronMuse (@BronMuse) March 7, 2025

Best record in the NBA since Jan 15th, 2025 @statmuse1. Lakers (20-4)2. Thunder (18-5)3. Cavaliers (18-5)4. Celtics (17-7)5. Nuggets (16-7)6. Knicks (14-7)7. Warriors (16-8)8. Bucks (15-8) pic.twitter.com/N07If2dupD— BronMuse (@BronMuse) March 7, 2025

Luka Doncic: “Gabe [Vincent] won us the game”— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 7, 2025

Gabe Vincent on the resilience the #Lakers showed in the win over the Knicks:"We needed this test. We needed some adversity. We've been playing well, we've been rolling. But we went down in the first half and we had to come back and fight. We needed it to build that character."— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) March 7, 2025

Give the man his money and a no-trade clause and call it a day.

$80 Mil a year? Who does he think he is, Juan Soto? LOL

Yeah, what a shame the supermax will be more when he’s up for it again.