LeBron James stood at midcourt early in the fourth, his hands on his hips while a faint cheer began to echo through the building.
“M-V-P. M-V-P.”
For 22 seasons, James has been on the court while those letters were shouted at him, the league’s all-time leading scorer, one of its greatest players earning the adoration in buildings all over the league.
But increasingly in Los Angeles, those three letters have been aimed at James’ teammates. Anthony Davis is the league’s second-leading scorer, and as he’s stepped to the foul line, the crowd has serenaded him on multiple occasions.
However, these letters weren’t for him, either. This moment, it wasn’t for them.
With James well out of the play and Davis on the bench, that chant faintly caught steam for the player picked 17th in this past NBA draft, a player who, for the second straight home game, had the crowd bouncing as shot after shot ripped through the net.
And while he’s not the league’s most valuable, in the Lakers 124-118 win against the Utah Jazz in NBA Cup pool play, no one meant more than Dalton Knecht.
Knecht tied the NBA record for most threes made by a rookie, hitting nine, as he finished with a career-high 37 points. In his last two home games, Knecht’s made 14 of his 17 three-point shots.
And as he shot two free throws early in the fourth, after one heck of a show, the crowd showed their appreciation.
The Lakers have won six straight games.
The hot shooting came with Knecht in the starting lineup for the third straight game, replacing an injured Rui Hachimura. The Lakers, coach JJ Redick said, are hopeful to have Hachimura and injured center Jaxson Hayes back sometime this week from ankle injuries.
Knecht opened the game by hitting a wide-open three in front of the Utah bench. His next shot, another three, easily ripped through the net.
But it was in the second half when Knecht, for the second straight game, flipped things. In the Lakers’ tight win Saturday in New Orleans, he shot them back to life with 11 third-quarter points.
Three days later, that seems like nothing in comparison.
In a little more than three minutes near the end of the quarter, Knecht scored 18 points. He made one three. Then another. Then another. Then another. He drew a foul and made three free throws. And, as a topper, he drilled another three-pointer.
After the four straight makes, he shrugged his shoulders like Michael Jordan did in the 1992 NBA Finals.
He ended the quarter with 21 points, the most by a rookie in the NBA this season and the fourth-highest scoring quarter for a player all season.
