The Los Angeles Lakers badly needed a win in their return home from a road trip against the Portland Trail Blazers. But with LeBron James joining Austin Reaves and not suiting up, a lot more pressure would be on the likes of Dalton Knecht to support Anthony Davis.
Knecht didn’t have the best shooting night finishing with just six points, but his eight rebounds were second on the team and, most importantly, the Lakers picked up a nine-point victory. Both D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura had big nights and the Lakers overall had much greater energy overall, something Knecht believes playing at home helped with.