Dalton Knecht put on a show on Tuesday as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 128-114 at Cyrpto.com Arena to improve to 10-4 in the 2024-25 season. Knecht finished with a career-high 37 points to go with five rebounds and a steal against the Jazz and sent a message to Lakers fans on X after the game.
“Yall like that?”
Oh, they certainly liked that. Knecht was on an absolute tear against the Jazz, as he went 12-16 from the field, 9-12 from three, and 4-5 from the line. The 23-year-old detonated in the third quarter, scoring 21 points on 6-6 shooting from beyond the arc. He was in the zone and helped the Lakers get their sixth straight win here.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick stated that Knecht was in the “flow state” in this game. The rookie was informed about that comment in his postgame press conference and was asked when he realized he was in that state.
“The first shot,” Knecht said. “Every time I see one go in, I think the next one’s always going in. Even if I miss it, I always have the confidence that my next shot is going in. My dad always told me that, so that’s just my confidence.”
All great shooters have that kind of confidence and it sure looks like Knecht has a good chance of going down as one. He tied the NBA single-game rookie record by hitting nine threes against the Jazz and is now shooting 46.4% from beyond the arc for the season.
Knecht is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Lakers, as there was no great three-point shooter on the roster the last couple of seasons. He has filled that void and it’s incredible that they got him with the 17th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. Knecht was called the steal of the draft by many on draft night and sure has proven them right.
The Lakers are now third in the Western Conference and are within touching distance of the Golden State Warriors, who are at the top with a 10-3 record. I don’t think many saw them being this good and they deserve a ton of praise for this great start.
The Lakers will now be looking to extend their winning streak to seven games when they take on the Orlando Magic at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday at 10:30 PM ET. The Magic, though, are currently on a six-game winning streak of their own and will pose a difficult challenge.
Jazz HC Will Hardy Called Out His Team Over Dalton Knecht’s Third-Quarter Explosion
While the Lakers were thrilled with Knecht’s display, Jazz head coach Will Hardy sure wasn’t. After the game, Hardy threw his Jazz players under the bus for allowing Knecht to go off in the second half.
“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. The problem was that those few people were on our team.”
That was brutal. Hardy wasn’t happy with what he saw from his team and his frustrations are understandable. With this loss, the Jazz have now dropped to 3-11 on the season and find themselves at the bottom of the standings in the West. Their fans are already looking forward to the 2025 NBA Draft and I don’t blame them for that.
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