NBA: Lakers fall apart in what could be LeBron's last MSG appearance

On a bittersweet evening in New York, LeBron James was unable to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers from falling 112-100 to the Knicks on Sunday, in what may have been his final appearance at the iconic Madison Square Garden.

These were the highlights of a day that included ten games in the NBA.

The good streak continues

Before stepping on the parquet of the well-known "Basketball Mecca," LeBron learned that his historic string of back-to-back All-Star appearances remained intact.

Now 41, veteran King James was chosen Sunday as one of the West's alternates for the Feb. 15 event in Los Angeles, which will bring his mark of consecutive call-ups to 22.

"Twenty-two in a row? Not bad. Blessed, honored, really," LeBron told reporters as he readied himself in the Madison locker room.

Satisfaction was not total for the King, whose presence in New York generated more anticipation than usual because of the secrecy about his future once the season concludes.

The shaky Lakers closed the day with a loss that pushes them to seventh place in the West, falling out of direct access to the playoffs.

James contributed 22 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and was virtually the only one on his team to respond when the Knicks took a second-half lead.

Luka Doncic fell just short of a triple double by tallying 30 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists on the one-year anniversary of his controversial trade from the Dallas Mavericks.

For their part, the Knicks, now installed in second place in the East, continue to show steadiness and have now racked up six straight wins.

Jalen Brunson (12 points and 13 assists) and Karl-Anthony Towns (11 points and 13 rebounds), the Knicks' two All-Stars, left the offensive reigns this time to OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet, who scored 25 and 23 points.

"We've been playing together, finding ways to win. The most important thing is to back each other up," said Brunson, who recently led the players' meeting that put the course back together. "It wasn't just me, it was all of us, but we're responding well. We have to keep doing it. We can't settle," the New York captain stressed.

Detroit's most convincing win

East chiefs, the Detroit Pistons crushed the Brooklyn Nets by 130-77 on a night with plenty to celebrate in front of their home crowd.

The 53-point difference is the largest in history for the iconic Motown franchise, which this season has regained its lost prominence.

Champions in 1989, 1990 and 2004, the Pistons once again command the East with a wide 5.5-win lead over the Knicks and Boston Celtics, backed by intimidating performances like Sunday’s showing.

Their biggest win so far was against the Celtics themselves by 52 points in 2003.

For the Nets, who are coached by Spaniard Jordi Fernandez, Sunday's thrashing isn't even the worst this year, after they were slaughtered by 54 points by the neighboring Knicks on Jan. 21.

Cade Cunningham, cornerstone of the new Pistons, guided the home attack with 18 points and 12 assists. In addition to the point guard, who was already booked for a starting spot in the All-Star Game, Detroit celebrated the selection Sunday as a reserve of young center Jalen Duren, who contributed 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Wizards prevail in bottom-of-the-table matchup

In Washington, the Wizards defeated 116-112 the Sacramento Kings in a duel between the bottom-ranked teams in each conference. The victory allowed the capital franchise to climb out of the East's hole, which is now occupied by the Indiana Pacers.

Rookie Will Riley, with 18 points off the bench, was the leading scorer for a Wizards that did not leave any starter more than 23 minutes on the court.

For the Kings, last in the West after nine straight losses, veterans Zach LaVineand DeMar DeRozan scored 35 and 32 points, respectively.