The Knicks' offense struggled without Jalen Brunson, shooting just 39 percent from the field and 27 percent from three in their 105-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

It was the Knicks' third straight loss, and the second of this back-to-back in Los Angeles. The Knicks (40-23) are now 0-2 on this five-game West Coast road trip.

Here are the takeaways...

-We got a look at life without Brunson early in this one as the Knicks got off to a 0-for-4 start from the field and let the Clippers get out to a 7-0 lead, thanks to two Knicks turnovers and Karl-Anthony Towns losing Ivica Zubac on defense, forcing Tom Thibodeau to call an early timeout. Out of the break, the Knicks found their rhythm on offense, going on a 10-2 run with every starter making a bucket.

The Clippers would find their groove again, largely due to Los Angeles switching up and getting the mismatch in transition for Zubac down low. They would end the first quarter on a 9-0 run to enter quarter two with a 31-25 lead. Josh Hart was the main man on offense, shooting 4-for-6 to score nine points.

-The second quarter saw Mikal Bridges become the aggressor on offense, getting to the free-throw line on back-to-back possessions and scoring six straight points, to lead the Knicks to a 10-0 run to start the quarter. They would build a lead as large as nine before the Clippers started hitting their threes -- aided by lack of Knicks defense on three-pointers -- to re-take the lead.

The Clippers went 6-for-9 from three in the second quarter as they took a 60-54 lead into halftime. LA was 11-of-20 from downtown while the Knicks were just 6-for-15 from three at the half. Towns was the only one with multiple made threes.

-New York started the third the same way the second quarter ended, shooting cold from long distance. This allowed the Clippers to get out to a nine-point lead, but just when it looked like Los Angeles would pull away, the Knicks started hitting threes to cut into the deficit. But then the lackluster Knicks three-point defense would rear its ugly head, and the Clippers would drain a few threes.

However, it wasn't the prettiest quarter for either team. They both shot 33 percent from the field, with the Knicks making 2-of-13 from three while the Clippers made only 3-of-12 from beyond the arc. Although LA was cold, the Knicks' defense deserved some credit as they had better attention to detail and contested many of those threes. They held the Clippers to just 19 points in the third, and they only scored one point in the final five minutes.

-The Knicks entered the fourth down by one but their cold shooting carried over, leading the Clippers to build a game-high 11-point lead. Even when the Knicks chipped away at the Clipper lead, they just couldn't sustain the offense or defense. New York made just one three-pointer in the final frame, and shot 39 percent in the quarter. New York scored just 17 points in the fourth quarter.

-Miles McBride started in place of Brunson on Friday and played admirably, but you could tell he had trouble being the floor general for the other starters. Hart was the real general, even when McBride had the ball. The young guard scored just seven points on 2-of-13 shooting (2-9 from three) but did dish seven assists. Overall, he was a minus-10 on the court.

-As for the other starters, Hart scored 14 points and came down with 20 rebounds (a career-high) and six assists. Towns led the Knicks with 23 points and had 10 rebounds, while Bridges scored 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. OG Anunoby had a quiet 11 points but came down with eight rebounds.

-Mitchell Robinson was not available as Friday was the second of a back-to-back, so Precious Achiuwa was needed for the Knicks. After Achiuwa missed Thursday's game, the forward provided great inside presence. He scored nine points and came down with five rebounds and a block.

-James Harden, coming off a 50-point game against the Pistons on Wednesday, posted 27 and was one of four Clippers to score in double figures. Kawhi Leonard (20), Nicolas Batum (17) and Zubac (16) were the others.

Here are the takeaways...

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