Portland (36-46) defeated Los Angeles (50-32), 109-81, at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, the final day of the 2024-25 regular season.
Former Tennessee basketball player Dalton Knecht started and played 37 minutes for the Lakers. He totaled 27 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Knecht converted 9-of-21 field goal attempts, 5-of-12 three-point attempts and 4-of-4 free throw attempts.
Los Angeles, which is a No. 3 seed in the NBA Western Conference playoffs, did not play its starters at Portland. LeBron James was inactive and Luca Doncic missed the game due to injury or illness.
The Lakers will next play No. 6 seed Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs. Game No. 1 is slated for Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. EDT at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. ABC will televise the contest.
Knecht was selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft (No. 17) by Los Angeles.
He was a transfer from Northern Colorado and played for the Vols during the 2023-24 season under head coach Rick Barnes.
During his one season at Tennessee, Knecht averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He led the Vols to a SEC regular-season championship and an appearance the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. Knecht was named SEC Player of the Year, SEC Newcomer of the Year and won the Julius Erving Award.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Dalton Knecht by the numbers for Lakers versus Portland
