Lakers erase big deficit, beat Knicks in OT

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James returned from a five-game injury absence with a triple-double on Saturday fueling the Los Angeles Lakers’ thrilling 122-115 come-from-behind overtime triumph over the New York Knicks.

James, who had been sidelined by swelling in his left knee, scored 29 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and handed out 10 assists as the Lakers authored their biggest comeback of the season after trailing by as many as 21 in the first half and by 15 at the interval.

“Feels good to be out there with my teammates, trying to put guys in position both offensively and defensively and giving what I’ve got,” James said.

“It was a great win for us,” added James, who watched the Lakers go 1-4 while he was out.

It was a sweet one, too, for a team that heard boos from Lakers fans rain down on Russell Westbrook after he clanked a shot off the rim in the first half amid the team’s struggles.

Center Anthony Davis scored 28 points and pulled down 17 rebounds and rising star Malik Monk was instrumental in the second-half turnaround with 25 of his 29 points coming after halftime.

“That third quarter was electrifying. He got hot,” James said of Monk’s 18-point outburst in the period. “We needed that.”

The Lakers took their first lead of the contest late in the third and went into the fourth with an 87-84 lead.

They pushed the advantage to as many as nine points, but RJ Barrett’s three-pointer with 8.1 seconds left knotted the score at 111-111 and James missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to send it to overtime.

The Lakers dominated the extra session, with James setting a tone with a thundering dunk after a steal by Talen Horton-Tucker for a 113-111 edge.