Kristaps Porzingis enters Beast Mode as Knicks beat Lakers 118-112

Kristaps Porzingis registered 26 points, 12 rebounds, 7 blocks and 2 assists as the New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 118-112 at the Staples Center on Sunday evening.

Porzingis, the second-year forward, was simply unstoppable on both ends of the floor as the Purple & Gold had no answer for the Latvian prodigy. The Lakers tried to put their best defenders on Porzingis but to no avail as the young start was +13 when on the floor for 39 minutes.

Derrick Rose had a season-high 25 points while his reserve, Brandon Jennings, dropped 19 points including a bunch of three-pointers. The Knicks shot 45 percent from deep, a stat indicative of the Lakers' poor perimeter defence. See final box score on ESPN.

Carmelo Anthony had a poor shooting night, going 4/16 from the floor for his 13 points. However, it didn't matter as the Knicks had multiple options on offense led by Porzingis, Rose, Jennings and Courtney Lee.

Lakers can't stop Kristaps Porzingis

For the Lakers, the night began on a positive note with D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young returning to the team after an injury layoff. While Young made an instant impact, dropping 15 points from just 20 minutes, Russell played only 17 minutes and was placed on a strict minute restriction by coach Luke Walton. Russell committed four turnovers in quick time but had five steals and two assists during his time on the court.

The Lakers were once again carried by their bench -- with Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson combining for 38 points and 9 assists. Luol Deng had a season-high 22 points and 5 rebounds and Julius Randle had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Knicks ran away with the game during the third quarter when they out-scored the Lakers by a margin of 27-19. Even though Los Angeles stayed in the game until the final few minutes, the Knicks managed to stay ahead courtesy of a streak of late threes from Jennings and Lee.

While Jennings scored 15 of his season-high 19 points in the final quarter, Rose made a clutch jump shot with 19.4 seconds to ice the game. With the victory, the Knicks moved to a record of 14-10 -- their best start to a season since 2012-13 under coach Mike Woodson.

The Lakers will now begin a 7-game road trip starting with a game against Sacramento Kings on Monday. Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks will visit the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.