NEW YORK _ For a game that pitted the worst team in the NBA against the most disappointing, there was a fair amount of buzz at Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon.
LeBron James, even on a dysfunctional team like the Lakers, remains a popular ticket in his only visit this season to the Garden. This only make sense because James, who lovingly refers to the arena as "his favorite playground," has had some great moments in New York.
In the pantheon of his finest game, Sunday's 33-point performance had to rank near the bottom. James missed shots on three straight possessions down the stretch as the Knicks broke an eight-game losing streak with a 124-123 win over the Lakers. The Knicks trailed by 11 _ 122-111 _ with 3:45 left after James scored the last of his 33 points on a jump shot.
Mario Hezonja was mobbed by his teammates after stopping James from scoring on a drive on the final play of the game.
With the loss, the Lakers (31-39) have just one victory in their last nine games. The Knicks improved to 14-56.
Emmanuel Mudiay led the Knicks with 28 points and Damyean Dotson scored 25. James' 33 points came on 11-for-26 shooting.
Entering Sunday's game, James had averaged 28.3 points, 7.5 assists and 6.9 rebounds in 26 career games at the Garden. His teams are now 19-8 at MSG.
This was James' first visit to the Garden in 14 seasons with a team that is not going to make the playoffs. And at times, it appears that he would rather be anywhere than on the injured and controversy riddled Lakers. James, 34, has repeatedly publicly questioned his teammates' motivation as the team plunged out of playoff contention in the West.
James was criticized during Sunday's game by Knicks announcer Walt Frazier for sitting apart from his team during a timeout. Frazier noted that it seems as if James "doesn't really care."
