As Dalton Knecht was amidst his breakout performance against the Suns, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were right beside him pushing him along.
In both of the Lakers’ wins this preseason, the young players at the end of the bench have staged comebacks to come away with wins. And in both instances, the Lakers starters and rotation players were up off the bench cheering them along.
On Thursday, those celebrations from the bench were because of Dalton Knecht, who put on a show with 35 points, nearly all of those coming in the second half. The rookie was on fire in the fourth quarter and overtime, scoring 20 straight points for the Lakers during that stretch.
Despite not playing, LeBron James was as involved as anyone late in the contest. Postgame, Dalton Knecht was asked about when it felt like he was in the zone and, amidst the answer, shared that both LeBron and Anthony Davis were encouraging him late in the game.
“I would say it fully took over was after the first one over Bol Bol,” Knecht said. “I felt good. Then, I kept shooting them. Overtime, shot felt good. Bron and AD said ‘It’s time’ so it was time to go take over. Shoutout to my teammates. They were looking for me.”
The advice clearly worked as Knecht did indeed take the game over and win it for the Lakers. After the final buzzer sounded, Knecht celebrated with his teammates after the incredible outing. Again, though, his vets were there with sage advice.
“I shot the ball and he said ‘No, keep that.’ AD grabbed the ball and made sure I got to keep it,” Knecht said. “So that was a really cool moment that I’ll treasure forever.”
The celebrations didn’t stop on the cour though as multiple Lakers raced to social media, too.
Knecht 4!!
— 35 (@Chriswood_5) October 18, 2024
Knecht 4!!!
— Jarred Vanderbilt (@JVando) October 18, 2024
Head coach JJ Redick also made sure Knecht got his due celebrations in the locker room as well.
That was fun ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/O1NWUQOuTZ
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 18, 2024
All in all, it was a fun night for the Lakers and Knecht. As far as preseason games go, it’ll be one of the more memorable ones for the purple and gold for some time.
It could also be the beginning of something special with Knecht, too. And LeBron and AD were right behind him the whole time.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
