A week later, Knecht and the Lakers had a chance at revenge, hosting the Grizzlies in L.A. This time, the kid who was named after Patrick Swayze’s character in “Road House” entered the game with a different mentality. “Go for the throat,” Knecht told ESPN. “They tried to embarrass us on their home court.” Beyond his still-aching jaw, Knecht was particularly miffed with how Ja Morant went at his teammate LeBron James, with the Memphis star “saying that he was pretty much the new king around here when Bron’s still in the league.” Whichever the grievance, the approach worked. Knecht scored 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting (5-for-5 on 3s) and made back-to-back crucial plays in the fourth quarter, first hitting a 3 off a James feed and then throwing a lob to backup center Christian Koloko for a slam that helped fuel a 128-123 victory. “They were real disrespectful,” Knecht said. “We had that game ready on our minds.” -via ESPN / December 2, 2024
