Lakers' Dalton Knecht scores 37, ties rookie record with 9 3s - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — After Lakers guard Dalton Knecht tied an NBA rookie record with nine 3-pointers en route to 37 points in a 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, LeBron James wanted to clarify just how Knecht landed in L.A.

It wasn't so much the Lakers' superb scouting department that identified the 6-foot-6, 215-pound wing after an All-American senior season at the University of Tennessee as the ideal prospect to select with the No. 17 pick.

It was all the other teams who passed on him.

«They didn't 'find' DK,» James (26 points, 12 assists) said. «The other 16 teams f---ed it up. Did anybody watch him? S---. They just didn't f--- it up. You don't 'find' a SEC player of the year.»

And the Jazz couldn't find any effective defense to stall Knecht, who exploded for 21 points in the final 3:29 of the third quarter to double the Lakers' lead from 11 to 22 heading into the fourth.

Knecht hit four straight 3s — the first three coming off assists from D'Angelo Russell — and with each make, the Crypto.com Arena crowd got louder and louder.

With seemingly everyone in the building anticipating his next attempt, Knecht got Utah's Cody Williams to bite on a move and foul him beyond the 3-point line, earning three free throws. He made all three.

To cap the flurry, he hit another 3 — again off a pass from Russell — with 26.3 seconds left in the third, to finish 6-for-6 for the quarter.

He finished going 12-for-16 from the field, including 9-for-12 from 3, with five rebounds and a steal.

«I'm not concerned at all with Dalton in terms of meeting the moment,» said Lakers coach JJ Redick, who hit nine 3s in a game just once in 940 career games — Knecht did it in his 14th as a pro. «He's fearless.… It's a real weapon for our group beyond