The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the New York Knicks at Staples Center on Tuesday.

The Knicks (38-30) are finishing up a really tough West Coast road trip, and the results have been pretty good. After a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, New York has a 13-3 record over their last 16 games played. That has catapulted them up to the four-seed in the Eastern Conference, and they have nearly guaranteed themselves homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. These Knicks fans haven't seen any playoff action for a long time now, and to get home games is even more amazing. The thing that's gotten them to this point is their stifling defense, surrendering the fewest points in the NBA. A lot of that can be attributed to Tom Thibideau, who looks like the frontrunner for Coach of the Year as well.

The Lakers (38-30) just picked up a huge win on Sunday, upsetting the Phoenix Suns, 123-110. They actually won that game in wire-to-wire fashion, getting a career performance from Anthony Davis. The superstar big man tallied 42 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks in that majestic performance, stepping up for LeBron James. It also got them within one game of the six-seed in the west, and that's a critical spot in order to fade the play-in game. The most important thing is to get Davis and James healthy for their playoff run, and it's certainly a team no one wants to play, no matter what seed they finish with. James is expected to return here and this is where things get fun for the Lakers.

These teams played back on April 12, with New York prevailing, 111-96. That followed up a season sweep by the Lakers last year, followed up a sweep by the Knicks in the year prior.