The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off a back-to-back set of preseason games before Opening Night against the Phoenix Suns, a team they saw earlier during their exhibition slate.
What was supposed to be a dress rehearsal per head coach JJ Redick ended up being another run-of-the-mill preseason showing as LeBron James and Rui Hachimura were both ruled out before tip off. James is being held out to give him more rest before the start of the 2024-25 season while Hachimura is dealing with a calf injury that the team is being cautious with.
Despite missing two starters, though, Los Angeles was able to pick up their second preseason win in a surprising overtime game. The Lakers wound up outlasting the Suns 128-122 and all the credit goes to Dalton Knecht, who came up clutch in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Knecht had been having a solid night from the floor, but erupted in crunch time as he hit 3-pointer after 3-pointer to help Los Angeles climb back into the game. In the closing seconds of regulation, the Lakers forced a Suns miss and gave Redick time to call timeout and draw up a play. The basketball wound up going to Knecht, who drained a tough three to force the extra period.
From there, Knecht caught on fire as he simply couldn’t miss from downtown no matter how difficult the look. The rookie punctuated the night with a tough layup and foul to help the Lakers pull away in the closing moments.
Knecht tied Anthony Davis for game-high scoring honors as he dropped 35 points on 10-of-18 shooting including 8-of-13 from beyond the arc.
While Knecht took over the second half, Davis got L.A. going in the first half as he could not be stopped on the offensive end. Davis kicked off the night by hitting multiple threes before getting down to the painted area and bullying his way to baskets.
Davis has been having a strong preseason and he continued that trend with his strong two-way play against Phoenix. Davis played a preseason-high 34 minutes and recorded 35 points including 4-of-9 from the 3-point line, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.
What’s next for Lakers
The Laker will close out their preseason schedule on the second of a back-to-back against the Golden State Warriors on Friday. After a few days of rest, the purple and gold will then host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Opening Night of the 2024-25 season.
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