The Lakers treated Thursday’s game in Phoenix like a regular-season game. They followed their game-day routine, looked at a scouting report, and gave the starters more practice. Surprisingly, this time, rookie Dalton Knecht stunned everyone with his best preseason performance, leading the Lakers to victory even without stars like LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.
Dalton Knecht had an incredible game, scoring 35 points on 10-of-18 shooting with eight three-pointers. He also grabbed seven rebounds and made two steals and two blocks. Interestingly, he scored 20 of the Lakers’ last total 22 points.
His big moment was a game-tying three-pointer over Bol Bol with just 5.1 seconds left. This shot made LeBron James and Anthony Davis jump in excitement.
Knecht will start the season on the bench, but his impressive stat means coach JJ Redick should give him more playing time. As one of the best shooters on the roster right now, Knecht’s skills will be valuable, especially playing alongside LeBron.
LeBron James on Rookie Dalton Knecht’s stunning play
The young forward was amazing from three-point range. With the Lakers down 113-107, Dalton Knecht hit two back-to-back threes to tie the game and force overtime. His incredible shooting made the Lakers’ bench, including LeBron James, jump in excitement.
After the game, four-time NBA champion LeBron James took to Instagram to praise Knecht’s performance. “Cannon!!! That boy COLD!!!” LeBron wrote on his Instagram story.
