The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 2-0 in NBA Cup play on Tuesday evening with a 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz in Los Angeles. The story of this one was rookie Dalton Knecht, who earned the beginning and did not disappoint.
Knecht completed the sport with 37 factors on 12-for-16 from the ground and 9-for-12 from three. His 9 3-pointers tied the NBA report for many threes by a rookie in a single sport, based on Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
He joins Keyonte George, Yogi Ferrell and Rodrigue Beaubois as the opposite rookies to hit 9 threes in a single sport.
Knecht’s evening was outlined by an insane sizzling streak close to the top of the third quarter. Throughout that stretch, Knecht knocked down six threes in nearly 4 minutes of sport time and scored 22 factors in a row for the Lakers. He was getting it finished in all methods: off the dribble, off the catch, in opposition to zone, in opposition to man, and nearly every other means you possibly can consider.
Knecht even received three free ones on the charity stripe because the Jazz began to shut out too aggressively on him. General, the previous Tennessee celebrity carried the Lakers on the offensive finish and proved that he’s able to being a dependable weapon for them on that finish.
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Whether or not he stays within the beginning lineup transferring ahead or not, Knecht is without doubt one of the greatest shooters on the workforce and may actually rating, which the Lakers want with a purpose to take a few of the burden off of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Along with his efficiency tonight, Knecht grew to become the primary rookie teammate that James has needed to rating 20 or extra factors in consecutive video games, based on StatMamba.
37 factors simply units a brand new profession excessive for Knecht, who hadn’t eclipsed 20 factors earlier than the Lakers’ final sport in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans. Now, with two consecutive huge video games below his belt, Knecht ought to solely be able to take one other leap because the season goes alongside.