Dalton Knecht stats tonight: How did Lakers rookie fare against crosstown rivals LA Clippers (Feb. 4)

Dalton Knecht had a field day on Tuesday as the LA Lakers blew out the LA Clippers 122-97. The rookie made an instant splash off the bench as he was the beneficiary of two exquisite passes from LeBron James to help open his evening with two easy buckets. The rookie was also tasked with guarding Kawhi Leonard for brief stretches as the Lakers got off to a hot start at the Intuit Dome on Tuesday.

Knecht came off the bench to end his half with seven points in 6:58 minutes as LA Led 73-50 at halftime. Much of their points came from James with 21 points, three rebounds, and five assists. He eventually ended with 14 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 2-4 from the deep. The forward also added four rebounds and an assist to his tally. Dalton Knecht came into the game averaging 9.3 points and 3.0 rebounds on 45.9% shooting from the field and 35.5% from downtown.

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Dalton Knecht was part of the initial Luka Doncic deal

Speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer's Kirk Goldsberry said that Dalton Knecht was initially one of the players in the framework of the shock blockbuster Luka Doncic trade that saw LA send Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks.

The trade's final list included just Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick. Goldsberry said:

"The deal got whittled down because I think Rob Pelinka was able to convince the Mavs that Luka is a lot of risk."

Knecht, the No. 17 pick in the draft out of Tennessee has shown his potential as a free-flowing scorer a few times this year, one such instance being a record 37-point outing against the Utah Jazz in November last year. With him in the fold, the Lakers get additional juice off the bench and will hope that he continues to perform consistently.

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