Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht was on song after he scored 37 points in a 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Knecht also scored nine three-pointers to tie the NBA rookie record.
LeBron James, who scored 26 points and 12 assists in the win, revealed how Lakers’ scouting department unearthed Knecht after an All-American senior season at the University of Tennessee.
“They didn’t ‘find’ DK,” James (26 points, 12 assists) said. “The other 16 teams f—ed it up. Did anybody watch him? S—. They just didn’t f— it up. You don’t ‘find’ a SEC player of the year.”
Jazz’s defense could not keep Knecht at bay as he scored a whopping 21 points in the last three and a half minutes of the third quarter. The 23-year-old finished with 12-for-16 from the field, including 9-for-12 from 3, with five rebounds and a steal.
“I’m not concerned at all with Dalton in terms of meeting the moment,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick, who hit nine 3s in a game just once in 940 career games — Knecht did it in his 14th as a pro. “He’s fearless. … It’s a real weapon for our group beyond just the score. It’s a weapon that energizes us.”
“Rui [Hachimura] was talking to me about I need to get a 3-point celebration,” Knecht said on his celebration after scoring a three-pointer. “I didn’t know what to do. So, I just gave the shrug.”
Anthony Davis said they urged the youngster to keep shooting and feels he can do more than just shoot.
“We just urge him to shoot the basketball,” Anthony Davis (26 points, 14 rebounds) said of Knecht. “He can do more than just shoot. But he’s really good at shooting the basketball. We get mad at him when he doesn’t shoot.”
The Lakers will next take on the Orlando Magic on Thursday.
