New York Knicks Edge Los Angeles Lakers, 99-95 Behind Melo's 24

In a battle between two proud but struggling franchises, Carmelo Anthony’s New York Knicks defeated Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers, 99-95 Sunday night. The Knicks notched their third victory in seven games while the Lakers dropped their fifth game in six outings so far in the 2015-2016 NBA Season.

Anthony outduelled Bryant too, scoring 24 points better than his counterpart’s 18 points. Bryant continued his bad shooting this season, making just 6-of-19 field goals including missing 8-of-10 shots from behind the arc. The Knicks got a huge lift from their starters, with four of five ending up in double-figure scoring.

Rookie Kristaps Porzingis had another respectable outing with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds with 2 blocked shots and center Robin Lopez also posted his own double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds. Off the bench, Langston Galloway had 14 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the three-point area.

Like Bryant, most of the Lakers struggled in this one, shooting 38.3 percent from the field (36-of-94 FGs), 33.3 percent from the three-point line (9-of-27 3FGs) and 60.9 percent from the free throw line (14-of-23 FTs) as a team.

The Lakers had the halftime lead, 49-45 and had the 90-89 lead with under three minutes to go in the game but couldn't capitalize on their chances in the end game.

Center Roy Hibbert posted his second double-double of the year with a season-high 18 points plus 10 rebounds with 2 blocked shots. Jordan Clarkson added 10 points and Nick Young also had 10 points off the bench.

The Lakers opened the season with four straight losses and will continue a five-game road trip with games versus the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks in their next three outings. The Knicks snapped a three-game losing skid and will aim for their first back-to-back wins of the season against the Toronto Raptors Tuesday.