Knicks fall to Lakers, 109-87

LOS ANGELES - Mike D'Antoni once made reference to his penchant for small lineups by saying, "Size isn't everything." But after Sunday night's 109-87 loss to the Lakers at Staples Center, it's pretty clear that size - or a lack thereof - is everything when it comes to beating the league's best and, of course, tallest.

D'Antoni opted to start 6-9 Shawne Williams rather than go with 6-10 Ronny Turiaf to at least help Amar'e Stoudemire in the paint. Turiaf played only 6:41 against his former team.

For D'Antoni, it wasn't as much the size as it was the fact that the Knicks shot 36 percent from the field (31-for-86) and were only 8-for-25 from three-point range for their lowest point total since a 107-80 loss at Milwaukee on Nov. 9.

"We have to play a certain way and we have to make some threes and move the ball, and we didn't do it,'' D'Antoni said. "I think our defense was good all night to keep us in the game even though we didn't play well. We didn't have a lot of energy.''

Stoudemire (23 points, 7-for-24 shooting, 10 rebounds) struggled inside against the towering Lakers front line of 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, and his usually reliable mid-range jumper was nonexistent in a frustrating performance. Stoudemire missed 12 of his first 14 shots. Early on, he settled for jumpers rather than attempt to take on the Lakers' big frontcourt.

And then there was the rebounding, a nightly issue for these undersized Knicks, who were outrebounded 61-42 and saw their winning streak snapped at three games. They are 1-6 against the league's elite (Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Magic and Spurs) this season.

"I thought our defense was really good,'' D'Antoni said of a scrappy, physical effort by his team. "We just had to keep coming back from [deficits] and we just didn't do it. We just didn't have enough.''

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers (27-11) with 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against rookie Landry Fields, who idolized him while growing up in Long Beach, Calif. Gasol had 20 points and 14 rebounds and Bynum added 18 points and seven boards.

The Lakers built a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter on the inside dominance of Bynum and Gasol, who totaled 12 points in the quarter. The game appeared to be getting away from the Knicks, who came out of halftime noticeably flat.

Late in the quarter, Stoudemire's frustration turned to anger when Ron Artest clotheslined him on a drive, which led to a flagrant foul against Artest and some heated words exchanged between Stoudemire and several Lakers. Stoudemire hit both free throws with 42.9 seconds left, and on the ensuing possession, Bill Walker drilled a three to cut the Lakers' lead to 10.

Stoudemire said he prefers the rough play. "I love it. I hope they keep it up,'' he said. "All that does is fuel me.''

Wilson Chandler (19 points) hit two free throws and Stoudemire hit one of two to make it 81-73 early in the fourth quarter. But that was the closest the Knicks would get.