Dalton Knecht stats tonight: How did the Lakers rookie fare against the Celtics in rivalry week skirmish? (Jan. 23)

Dalton Knecht had a field day in his first taste of NBA Rivalry Week. The rookie forward played a key role in the LA Lakers' 117-96 trouncing of the Boston Celtics at the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday. Knecht had 13 points coming off the bench including some impressive defensive approach as LA put up a clinic.

The Tennessee product was off to a solid start burying two 3s coming off the bench. He showcased his full range of shots as he recorded eight points in just over eight minutes of action. To add, he was equally effective on the defensive end putting in his pesky defensive efforts against a surprisingly rusty Celtics offense.

He ended his second quarter with three boards to his name. Dalton Knecht shot 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from the deep playing his part in LA's 67-48 lead at halftime. The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis (14 points) and LeBron James (12 points) at the midway mark.

Knecht added five more points to his tally in the second half to end with 13 points and four rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and going 3-of-4 from the deep. He was one of the key contributors off the bench alongside Gabe Vincent's 12 points.

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Dalton Knecht weighs in on the possibility of playing in the Rising Stars challenge

With the All-Star break incoming, Dalton Knecht will be one of the names to watch out for to be selected for the Rising Stars game.

This year, the winner of the challenge will be part of the NBA All-Star Game per its new format. On his part, Knecht revealed he hadn't given it too much thought while adding that he was focused on helping the Purple and Gold win as many games as possible.

“Nah, I haven’t thought about it. I’m pretty sure I will think about it now. I’m not sure, I’ll think about it next time. Staying with a positive mindset, always going out there and giving my best, shooting the ball, playing defense, grabbing rebounds, and stuff like that. So, just making sure to do those little things."

Dalton Knecht is averaging 9.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in his rookie season for LA. It's interesting to see how he fares for the remainder of the season.