Dalton Knecht, Darius Bazley power fourth quarter rally to beat Spurs

Dalton and Darius ignites in the fourth to guide the Lakers to a big win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

The Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter on Tuesday behind a Dalton Knecht heater to beat the Spurs, 89-88.

LA trailed by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter but stormed back after Knecht caught fire. After a relatively slow start, Knecht finished with 25 points on 9-18 shooting overall and 4-8 from range to go along with eight rebounds.

Knecht and Darius Bazley scored the final 17 points of the game for the Lakers as part of a 17-5 run to win. Bazley, who had 27 points and 13 rebounds, had the go-ahead putback dunk with 13 seconds remaining.

Cole Swider ended with 15 points. DJ Steward pitched in with nine points. Bronny James had a slow night with two points.

The game began with Dalton taking charge of the offense. He scored the first four points for LA, which was a welcome sight as he had been struggling throughout the first two games. San Antonio’s rookie Carter Bryant drained a 3-pointer but Dalton’s strong start continued as he knocked down his first 3-pointer of Summer League action in response.

Darius once again brought the energy and defensive play for Los Angeles, grabbing five rebounds with a block and two assists. He and Dalton were the leading scorers for the Lakers, while DJ pitched in with five points.

Bronny only had one shot attempt in the opening quarter. The Lakers only had eight points in the paint to San Antonio’s 14. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down three.

Cole struggled early, missing his first four shots in the first quarter, but found a rhythm in the second with a fadeaway in the paint. He also converted on two free throws. With 6:44 left in the half, he was the only Laker to have scored in the quarter.

Los Angeles started to come alive offensively with Dalton and Darius combining for four straight points nearly halfway into the quarter. The pair had now both cracked double digits in scoring.

The Spurs were defending LA well, making them battle through tough defense for their shots. San Antonio’s David Jones Garcia was an impressive 4-4 from the field. Cole ignited again for four straight points to make it a closer affair.

Bronny scored his first points with 1:09 left in the half, converting a layup. At halftime, the Lakers were down by five.

The second half started with Cole picking up two quick fouls. The Spurs scored four straight points to go up by 11, their biggest lead of the game. Cole then drained a 3-pointer to put a halt to that momentum surge by San Antonio.

Still, the Spurs remained in control, fueled by their defense that continued to make the Lakers grind for every look. Darius added six points for L.A., including an emphatic dunk, while DJ sparked a brief run with four late points to close the quarter.

At the end of the third, though, Los Angeles was down by 11.

RJ Davis started the final frame with a layup. Cam Carter responded with a 3-pointer for the Spurs. The Lakers then went on a 5-0 scoring run until the Spurs answered with five straight points of their own. LA kept their feet on the gas pedal, slowly chipping away at the deficit.

A sudden surge of six points off two 3-pointers for Dalton made it a three-point game with 2:14 left as LA had erased a 14-point Spurs lead. Garcia knocked down a 3-pointer to put a stop to Los Angeles’s momentum.

A surge from Dalton and Darius put LA up by one. They were able to lock down defensively to seal the win.

Key Takeaways:

Dalton Knecht is ALIVE!

Darius has continued to play great on both ends of the floor. Three games in and he’s proving worthy of a spot on an NBA team.

Catch the Summer League game on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks at 5:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.