Sharpshooting Dalton Knecht, Anthony Davis Power Lakers to OT Revenge vs Suns

Is Dalton Knecht Reggie Miller now?

Oct 17, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht (4) reacts after making a three point basket against the Phoenix Suns during the overtime period at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Is Dalton Knecht Reggie Miller now?

Is Anthony Davis?

Probably not, but both cases deserve to be examined nevertheless.

With All-NBA forward LeBron James and power forward Rui Hachimura both sitting out, the Lakers' normal firepower was a bit consolidated during the Los Angeles Lakers' rematch against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Davis was on fire from beyond the 3-point line throughout the game's opening quarter, as he's clearly taken new head coach JJ Redick's dictum to prioritize long-range sniping to heart. The nine-time All-Star was one of the two major stories of the night, along with a certain sharpshooting rookie guard. Los Angeles won in overtime, 128-122, avenging their 118-114 loss on October 6.

Playing every second of the first quarter for some reason, the 6-foot-10 superstar scored 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting overall, but went 4-of-7 from long range (57.1 percent) and 1-of-2 from the foul line, while also grabbing five rebounds, two assists, and one steal — again, this all was in the first frame alone. He led the Lakers to a 35-30 advantage in a high-scoring opening period.

That makes it 4️⃣ threes for AD in the first quarter pic.twitter.com/nkGzPyfQDR

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 18, 2024

Austin Reaves was the only Laker to connect on multiple field goals through one quarter, with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor.

The Lakers were outscored by 10, 37-27, in the second quarter to finish trailing by five points, 67-62.

Los Angeles players not named Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves or Dalton Knecht had a tough time making much of an offensive impact in the second half. The Suns held onto their marginal edge to start the fourth quarter up six, 90-84, and at times built up an eight-point lead. But a variety of Davis takes around the basket helped the Lakers storm almost all the way back, in combination with a costly Ryan Dunn foul on D'Angelo Russell while the latter was attempting a 3-pointer.

A Bol Bol triple seemed to put the game potentially out-of-reach for the Suns with just over a minute to spare. Ultimately, a flurry of Dalton Knecht offense in the closing 1:23 of regulation (he scored seven straight Lakers points) helped L.A. force overtime.

To the excitement of a stunned Lakers bench, the former Tennessee Volunteers All-American contributed to all of the Lakers' baskets in the bonus period, scoring all but one of the team's buckets — the other was a Jaxson Hayes lay-in off a Knecht assist. Knecht finished the frame with 13 points, an assist, a rebound, and a block. At one point, Knecht had scored 20 straight for L.A.

DALTON KNECHT ARE YOU SERIOUS ⁉️

SCORED THE LAKERS LAST 20 PTS IN A ROW 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DqGIphkzFK

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 18, 2024

With the win, Knecht finished with 35 points on 10-of-18 shooting overall (8-of-13 from deep, including a pair of triples against 7-foot-3 Suns big man Bol Bol) and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line, plus seven reb ounds, two blocks, two steals and a dime. Knecht managed to show off a surprisingly good handle in navigating around pick-and-rolls, demonstrated impressive force in driving to the rack, and looked like a legitimate Day 1 contributor for Los Angeles heading into the season.

Davis wrapped up the game with an identical 35 points on 14-of-28 shooting from the floor (4-of-9 from long range) and 3-of-8 shooting from the foul line, 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Why Redick wanted to play the All-Defensive Teamer 33:53 in a preseason game is anyone's guess, but it sure helped the Lakers survive the final quarter of regulation. Reaves was L.A.'s only other player to score in double digits, with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting in just 21:48, along with eight rebounds and two assists. Russell had 10 assists and nine points on 2-of-9 shooting.

The victory improves the Lakers' preseason record to 2-3, with one more contest left — against the Golden State Warriors on Friday — before the games start to count.

Los Angeles connected (ahem) on a preseason-most 16-of-46 3-pointers, good for a preseason-best 34.8 percent mark. Across the Lakers' four previous games, the club had taken a high volume of triples, but their conversion rate was fleeting. Los Angeles took its fewest triples of the preseason, 32, during a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers took 40 or more in the succeeding three contests (including a whopping 44 against the Bucks), but never converted more than 32 percent. Last year, Los Angeles was fairly efficient on its 3-point shooting, but shot less frequently than all but two other NBA teams. JJ Redick, himself an elite 3-point marksman in his playing days, has been open about trying to amend his new team's shot profile.

All five of the Suns' starters scored in double figures. All-Star swingman Devin Booker scored a game-leading 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor.

After the game, Miller himself (he was in town providing commentary for the TNT broadcast) embraced Knecht. It was just that kind of night.

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