Rookie Leads Lakers in Loss to OKC Thunder

Despite a close loss to an experienced opponent, the Lakers were able to find a silver lining on Friday night in the form of a hot rookie performance.

Dalton Knecht — the team’s top newbie who was drafted at No. 17 overall after a draft-night slide — was able to lead the team in scoring in an eight-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Knecht scored 20 points, still managing to add six rebounds and four assists in an all-around offensive performance. LeBron James and Anthony Davis scored 12 and 15, respectively, with neither finding their groove on the night.

The frosh was gifted a team-high 16 shots, too, largely due to the Thunder’s defensive process of getting the ball out of Davis and James’ hands. The result was 12 3-pointers, which Knecht cashed in on half of.

Earlier in the season, Knecht was finding ways to help the team, but was struggling some from beyond the arc. With an elite sample at the collegiate level, it was only a matter of time before those very threes fell. And fall they have in recent weeks.

In the eight games prior to the matchup with Oklahoma City, Knecht scored 18.8 points on 58% shooting, cashing in on 54% of his seven attempted triples per game.

The rookie has been a pivotal part of the team’s record this season, which very likely would be worse without Knecht’s talents in tandem with the team’s star duo.

Now down two NBA Cup games, the Lakers are back in action against the Utah Jazz at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1 in hopes of getting back in the win column.

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.