Red-hot Dalton Knecht scores 37 points as the Lakers win their sixth straight

LeBron James stood at midcourt early in the fourth with his hands on his hips as a faint cheer began to echo through the building.

“MVP. MVP.”

For 22 seasons, James has been on the court as those letters were shouted at him, the league’s all-time leading scorer, one of its greatest players, earning the adoration in buildings across the league.

But increasingly in Los Angeles, those three letters have been directed 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 were not for him either. This moment was not for them.

With James well out of the game and Davis on the bench, the song picked up faint steam for the player’s pick 17^th in this past NBA draft, a player who for the second consecutive home game had the crowd jumping as shot after shot ripped through the net.

And even if he is not the league’s most valuable, in the Lakers 124-118 win against the Utah Jazz in the NBA Cup pool, no one mattered 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 made 14 of his 17 three-pointers.

And when he hit two free throws early in the fourth, after a heck of a show, the crowd showed their appreciation.

The Lakers have won six games in a row.

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, hope 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 game in a row, turned things around. In the Lakers’ close win Saturday in New Orleans, he sparked them back to life with 11 points in the third quarter.

Three days later, it seems like nothing in comparison.

In a little more than three minutes at the end of the quarter, Knecht scored 18 points. He made a three. Then another. Then another. Then another. He fouled and made three free throws. And to top it all off, he drilled another three-pointer.

After the four straight marks, he shrugged like Michael Jordan did in the 1992 NBA Finals.

He finished the quarter with 21 points, the most by a rookie in the NBA this season and the fourth-highest scoring quarter by a player all season.