The Los Angeles Lakers leaned on second-year guard Dalton Knecht for heavy minutes Sunday night, fielding only 10 available players in a 110-99 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena.
With three two-way contracts among the active group, Knecht stood as the lone reserve who normally sees rotation action. The 23-year-old responded with a season-best 16 points, all after halftime, finishing 6-for-14 from the floor and 2-for-8 beyond the arc.
“I feel good”
“All my shots are right, they’re just not falling,” Knecht told reporters postgame. “I’m a confident shooter and gonna keep shooting no matter what. All the guys have belief in me, so I’ve gotta shout out my teammates and the coaching staff.”
The guard added that a pair of steals and a block helped him settle in defensively, sparking his second-half scoring. “That was our stint where we were getting stops and beating them up as well, so something to build off,” he said.
No excuses for mounting injuries
Los Angeles played without several regulars, and veteran guard Gabe Vincent is expected to miss two to four weeks with a sprained ankle. Even so, Knecht refused to cite the depleted roster for the loss. “We just gotta play Laker basketball at the end of the day,” he said. “We did against Sacramento and we played great, but just fell short today. We’ll bounce back.”
Knecht, who has flashed scoring potential in spot duty, could see an extended role while the Lakers navigate their injury list.
Source: Lakers Nation
