Five takeaways from the Lakers’ 118-112 loss to the Knicks

A monster road trip awaits the Lakers, and when Luke Walton was asked if it comes at a good time, he released a somewhat morose-sounding chuckle.

“It’s time to come together more so than ever,” Walton said when he recovered. “We lost six straight and have a seven-game road trip staring down at us tonight. A lot of times on the road, when you get away from everything else and it’s just you and your teammates, some bonding and brotherhood-type of activities, [a team] can come together. Other times a seven-game road trip can wear everybody out and people get on each other’s nerves. I’m hopeful and confident that we’ll stick together and get through this.”

Here are five takeaways from the Lakers’ 118-112 loss to the New York Knicks.

1. Losing streaks were common for the last two seasons — that naturally happens in the course of 65 losses. There is a sentiment in the locker room that the mentality is different now. Jordan Clarkson insisted that the current situation is just temporary. D’Angelo Russell said they’d had enough of it, and that losing became a habit last season. The reaction to losing is something Walton monitors. He said the danger lies in two places. A team can become OK with losing. Or players might start trying to fix the issues by themselves. He said he hasn’t seen that happening yet.

2. Luol Deng’s comfort level is rising. Deng had a season-high 11 rebounds against the Phoenix Suns on Friday, then he had a season-high 22 points against the Knicks. Throughout his career, Deng’s numbers have always been worse in his first 20 games playing for a new coach than the rest of his time with that coach. The improvement is consistent, and Deng seems to be getting there now.

3. The presence of Nick Young and Russell was important. The offense ran much more smoothly than it did without them. Their return also allowed the Lakers to use some of the regular lineups they’ve been succeeding with this season. Depth was a big part of why the Lakers were playing well at the beginning of the season, and while they down two starters they didn’t have it. Russell’s and Young’s minutes will still be limited on Monday, but they’ll slowly increase.

4. Road trips are never easy, but there are some favors in the Lakers’ schedule. They’ll face the four worst teams in the Eastern Conference in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Miami and Orlando. On the flip side, they’ll face two of the three best teams in the East in Cleveland and Charlotte.

5. Some of the issues in fixing the Lakers’ defense include ingrained bad habits and a lack of practice time during the season. “We need reps and reps and reps and reps,” Walton said. “It’s the only way to break habits. We haven’t been a good defensive team for the last few years, so you add that we have a new team and new staff, new concepts. … A lot of the reps are literally happening in the game, which is still getting reps in, so we still should get better at it. And we will. It just hasn’t happened yet.”

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Twitter: @taniaganguli