Dalton Knecht has done it again.
The former Tennessee standout continued his stretch of strong play with the best performance of his young NBA career on Tuesday night. Knecht exploded for a game-high 37 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the floor and nine-of-12 shooting from three-point range.
Knecht’t nine made three pointers tied a NBA rookie record and he took over the game in the second half much like he did in his lone year at Tennessee. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard scored 20 straight points for the Lakers in the second half as they outlasted the Jazz 124-118.
Dalton Knecht had a career-high 37 PTS in the @Lakers 6th-straight win 🤩
Tied the NBA rookie record for most threes in a game with 9! pic.twitter.com/nOv5w0TP5z
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 20, 2024
In the third quarter, Knecht scored 21 points while making all six of his field goal attempts. All six field goal attempts were three pointers.
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“In the second half it seemed like everybody in the gym knew that Dalton Knecht was going to shoot the next shot, with the exception of a few people,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said after the game. “The problem was that those few people were on our team.”
After a quiet stretch early this season where Knecht scored in single-digits five straight games, Knecht has exploded in his last four games since moving into the starting lineup. During that stretch, the rookie from Tennessee is averaging 24.3 points per game on 68% shooting from three-point range.
Knecht is now averaging 11.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game through his first 14 games in the NBA. The reigning SEC Player of the Year was projected to go in the top 10 of the NBA Draft last summer before slipping all the way to the Lakers at No. 17.
“They didn’t find DK,” Lakers star LeBron James said of LA’s front office. “The other 16 teams f***ed it up. Did anybody watch him? They just didn’t f*** it up.
“The same shit I said last year. Everybody called me a liar all the time. What am I now? I been saying it. I watched Tennessee a lot. I watched Tennessee a lot. I did not think he was going to fall to us. It would be impossible. I have no idea how that happened. Very grateful and happy that he’s here.”
Knecht will look to continue his hot streak when the Lakers return to the court on Thursday night to face the Orlando Magic.
