Dalton Knecht Stats Tonight: How did Lakers rookie fare against OKC Thunder? (Apr. 8)

Dalton Knecht and the LA Lakers hoped to sweep the two-game mini-series against the OKC Thunder on Tuesday. LA, which won 126-99 two nights ago, could secure the season head-to-head duel with another victory.

JJ Redick continued the trend of keeping the rookie on the bench to open the game. Knecht could not see action until 3:22 left in the first quarter to relieve Dorian Finney-Smith. The No. 17 pick in the 2024 draft did not attempt one shot in the high-octane slugfest in the first quarter.

Knecht started the second quarter and opened the Lakers' output with a corner 3-pointer off a nifty pass from LeBron James. The forward missed two more shots after that, including a dunk that Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein partly stuffed at the rim.

Redick sidelined Dalton Knecht in the third quarter. After trailing 80-72 at halftime, the coach leaned on his veterans to keep the OKC Thunder from blowing the game open. Redick's strategy worked as the old reliables dominated the period 26-17 to take a 98-97 edge entering the fourth quarter.

Knecht played three minutes, contributing a rebound during his stint on the floor before Luka Doncic relieved him with 9:00 in the fourth quarter. The rookie did return until the game was all but over. OKC pulled away late to lead 136-116 before Redick emptied his bench.

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
Dalton Knecht	3	3	0	0	0	0	1-4	1-2	0-0	-2

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Dalton Knecht's failed poster dunk against Isaiah Hartenstein became viral

Dalton Knecht went viral against the OKC Thunder on Tuesday for the wrong reason. With roughly three minutes left in the second quarter, he emphatically drove into the paint to attempt a highlight reel dunk. Instead, Isaiah Hartenstein swatted his shot at the rim, prompting the pro-Thunder crowd to stand in appreciation.

The play was a microcosm of how Knecht played in the two-game mini-series against the Thunder. He had a quiet three-point output on Sunday despite the LA Lakers' dominant 126-99 road win.

Dalton Knecht grabbed part of the spotlight in the rematch via a highlight play from Hartenstein. The rookie will be hoping to do better if the two teams meet in the playoffs.