LOS ANGELES — Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench to score 22 points, and the New York Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 101-94 Thursday night at Staples Center.
Hardaway, who missed the previous two games with back spasms, connected on eight of 14 shots from the floor and made five of seven from 3-point range.
The Knicks, who have the worst record in the NBA (13-51), ended a five-game skid and snapped a seven-game losing streak at Staples.
New York center Andrea Bargnani added 16 points. Guards Alexey Shved finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Guard Langston Galloway scored 12 points.
Forward Jordan Hill scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who fell for the sixth time in seven games. Guard Jeremy Lin had 14 points and seven assists.
Los Angeles, which owns the fourth-worst mark in the league (17-47), made a late run, cutting New York’s lead to 96-91 after a 3-pointer by point guard Jordan Clarkson with 53.4 seconds remaining.
New York forward Jason Smith scored on a drive with 32.1 seconds left to push the lead back to five before Hill nailed a 3-pointer with 24.2 seconds left to pull the Lakers within 98-94, but Los Angeles never scored again.
Hardaway’s 12 first-half points, all in the second quarter, gave New York a 60-54 advantage at the break. The Knicks shot 53.7 percent to 49 percent for the Lakers in the first half. They also converted six of 11 3-pointers to one of four for Los Angeles before intermission, which also helped them outscore the Lakers 35-26 in the second quarter.
Overall, the Knicks shot 46.8 percent to 42.2 percent for the Lakers.
New York opened the third quarter with a 25-9 run for a 75-63 cushion after a bucket inside by center Cole Aldrich with 3:52 left. However, two foul shots by Lin cut the deficit to 80-74 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lakers lost despite outrebounding the Knicks 51-33, including a 15-4 edge on the offensive boards.
NOTES: New York’s Derek Fisher on what stands out about his first game at Staples Center as a head coach against his former club: “I think just the memories, the people, the city, what we’ve enjoyed and experienced, you can’t replace,” said Fisher, referring to the five NBA titles he won with the Lakers as a player. “Being back here is almost re-energizing and it invigorates just the thought process on how we need to keep going to get to the point we want to get to.” … New York posted a 90-82 win over Los Angeles on Feb. 1 at Madison Square Garden. … The Knicks visit the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. … The Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.