Lakers Knecht for 6th Straight Win
Los Angeles, CA — — The Los Angeles Lakers (11-4), led by Dalton Knecht, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James, survived a late game push from the Utah Jazz (3-11) to advance to 11-4 on the year and take their 6 straight win, and second straight NBA Cup (In-Season Tournament) win.
Davis finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists. While Knecht went for 37 points, 9-12 on threes, and rattled off a whopping 21 straight points in the 3rd quarter himself. Knecht became the first Rookie to lead a LeBron James team in scoring in a win, according to ESPN.
Davis briefly left the game during the Knecht’s 3rd quarter barrage after taking a shot below the belt from John Collins. Collins was assessed a Flagrant 1 for the “per-dic-a-ment” he put Davis in, as Lakers Play-by-Play announcer Bill Macdonald referred to it as.
Davis was asked after the game, by Los Angles Times reporter Dan Woike, if he was worried that getting hit below the belt was the good luck charm for the [great] shooting performance.
“Oh no, he won’t be making no more threes then.. I can’t do that,” Davis said laughingly as he shook his head.
But of course, the talk of the night was all about Rookie Dalton Knecht’s performance.
In the 3rd quarter alone, the rookie of the year played all 12 minutes, went for 6 for 6 on FGs, 3 for 3 from 3pt, and scored 21 straight points. This 21-straight-point onslaught all came after a LeBron James breakaway left handed dunk that would have initially been one of the best highlights from the night.
Knecht, by way of Tennessee, of course fell to the Lakers at 17.
Many draft analyst projected that the reigning SEC Player would be long gone before the Lakers selection at 17th. He did not even take his pre-draft workout the Lakers offered him.
Shit, even Knecht himself said last night he was a little surprised he fell to 17 in the NBA Draft.
What he did not seem so surprised about was his shooting performance last night. During his postgame availability, Knecht said he realized he was locked in after “the first shot.”
“Every-time I see one go in, I think the next [one] is always going to go in,” Knecht said.
This is something Knecht credits his confidence for and words of affirmation from his father.
Last night, LeBron James himself even had something to say about Knecht being available at 17th—while not giving any credit to the much talked about Los Angels Front Office.
[The Front Office] didn’t find [Dalton Knecht]. The other 16 teams fucked it up,” James said as he laughed.
The Los Angeles Lakers play the Orlando Magic on Thursday, while the Utah Jazz will also suit up again Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs.