The Los Angeles Lakers' Winning Streak Comes to a Halt Against the New York Knicks

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Despite a powerful performance from D'Angelo Russell, the Lakers were unable to secure a victory against the Knicks on Sunday, losing 112-108. Anthony Davis, who had a standout game with 17 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block, took the defeat to heart and blamed himself for the loss.

"I Played Terrible"

"My play," Davis said when asked for the reason for the defeat. "I played terrible. Couldn't find my shot: free throws, layups, everything. The guys did their job. I didn't do my job tonight." However, his teammate Dennis Schroder disagreed, stating that the loss was a team effort.

"When we lose, we lose as a team. When we win, we win as a team. But AD, he tries to be great at all times, and he has been, 90 percent of the time, great for us. ... So, he can't put it on himself."

Toronto's Influence on the Game

Davis didn't think that Toronto's defense had much of an impact on the Knicks' performance.

"I don't think they did anything special. A lot of times one-on-one, they doubled a couple of times. But I don't think it was anything that carried over from Toronto."

"That One Hurt"

D'Angelo Russell had a career-high 33 points, with 31 of them coming before the fourth quarter.

"That one hurt," said Russell. "We were battling, we tried to do everything we could. We couldn't get enough rebounds, no stops, didn't make enough shots. It just didn't go our way, I guess."

The Lakers' Coach Speaks Out

Lakers coach Darvin Ham explained the team's strategy for the final minutes of the game. "You try to force a turnover if you can, and then foul.

And it just so happened that they spread us out. They did a great job of getting off the ball quickly and allowing the time to dwindle. To do it over again, I would do it the same. I would definitely do it the same. It was just unfortunate we weren't able to get a foul in a timely fashion."

LeBron James' Mental Health

Ham also spoke about the importance of LeBron James' mental and spiritual health. "It's also good for him to unplug a little bit.

Not be detached, necessarily, but just mentally get a little bit of a calming to everything that's transpired over the year. ... It's not just about him getting healthy; it's about him being in a good place mentally and spiritually so we get the best version of him when he returns."