Whatever ascent Dalton Knecht was on in recent games heading into Tuesday’s game against the Jazz shifted to supersonic speed in the blink of an eye.
In a third quarter that will be remembered for some time, Dalton Knecht scored 21 points, including five straight 3-pointers. Mixed in was a foul on a 3-pointer as, in the span of 2:14 late in the third, Knecht scored 15 consecutive points.
Over the final 3:29 of the quarter, Knecht scored 18 straight points for the Lakers with a late 3-pointer with under 30 seconds remaining.
There’s as hot as a flamethrower, then there’s what Knecht was on Tuesday. It powered the Lakers to a big lead and allowed them to virtually coast down the stretch to a relatively comfortable win.
After the game, a lion’s share of questions were about Knecht, including at least one directed to Jazz head coach Will Hardy. Given the chance to talk about Knecht’s second half, Hardy took the bold stance of absolutely flaming his team.
Well damn!
Hardy can put his players on blast, and perhaps they deserved it, but it was his interesting choice to go to a zone defense with Knecht on the floor that allowed him to knock down his first two 3-pointers.
Now, that being said, once you get to his third 3-pointer, it’s hard to put the blame on anyone but the players.
You know, after watching these defensive clips, I’m beginning to understand why the Jazz are the worst team in the Western Conference.
Based on his demeanor postgame, I’m sure that’s something Will Hardy has also told his team, too.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
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