LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dalton Knecht tied the NBA's single-game rookie record with nine 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 37 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 124-118 Tuesday night for their sixth consecutive victory.
LeBron James had 26 points and 12 assists, and Anthony Davis had 26 points and 14 rebounds as the Lakers improved to 7-0 at home. Austin Reaves added 17 points for the defending NBA Cup champions, who improved to 2-0 in group play this season.
The Lakers hadn't won six straight games since February 2021, shortly after their championship run in the Florida bubble.
Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points for the Jazz, who have lost three straight. Keyonte George scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Collin Sexton added nine of his 19 in the fourth.
Rui Hachimura missed his third straight game with a sprained ankle. Bronny James sat with a bruised heel.
Jazz: Another rough night for a rebuilding team, lowlighted by John Collins' flagrant foul for striking Davis in the groin. The 43-point fourth quarter was impressive, but too late.
Lakers: Knecht has been outstanding since joining the starting lineup four games ago, racking up 24.3 points per game while hitting 21 3-pointers. He has been the catch-and-shoot threat long lacked by James and Davis.
Knecht hit 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions in the third quarter, getting the entire crowd on its feet. He scored 21 points in the third alone. His ninth 3-pointer put LA up by 25 early in the fourth, but he didn't score again, and Utah trimmed the lead down the stretch.
Knecht tied the single-game rookie 3-pointer record shared by Rodrigue Beaubois (2010), Yogi Ferrell (2017) and Utah’s Keyonte George (2024).
Jazz: Visit San Antonio on Thursday to end their four-game trip.
Lakers: Host Orlando on Thursday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis, left, dribbles past Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Cam Reddish, right, intercepts Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton as he attempts to score during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dunks during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht celebrates after scoring a 3-pointer during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea recently supplied additional artillery systems to Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine, while some of the thousands of North Korean troops deployed in Russia have begun engaging in combat, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday.
The South Korean assessment came after Russia warned Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles adds “fuel to the fire” of the war. U.S. officials said Biden’s decision was triggered almost entirely by North Korea’s entry into the war.
In a closed-door briefing at parliament, the National Intelligence Service said that North Korea exported 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple rocket launch systems to Russia, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.
Lee told reporters that the NIS assessed those weapons are a type of artillery the Russian military doesn’t operate so North Korea likely dispatched personnel to teach the Russians how to use them and handle their maintenance.
Last week, Russian Telegram channels and other social media posts published photos apparently showing North Korean’s “Koksan” 170mm self-propelled guns being moved by rail inside Russia. The Financial Times, citing Ukrainian intelligence assessments, reported Sunday that North Korea in recent weeks sent some 50 domestically produced 170mm self-propelled howitzers and 20 240mm multiple launch rocket systems to Russia.
The artillery systems are the latest conventional weapons that North Korea is believed to have provided to Russia as the two countries are sharply expanding their military cooperation in the face of separate confrontations with the U.S. and its allies. Last month, the NIS said that North Korea had sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles and other conventional arms to Russia since August 2023 to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.
During its Wednesday briefing, the NIS said that an estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers in late October were moved to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops seized parts of its territory this year, following their training in Russia's northeast, Lee said. He cited the NIS as saying the North Korean soldiers were assigned to Russia’s marine and airborne forces units and some of them have already begun fighting alongside the Russians on the frontlines.
The U.S., Ukraine and others have similar estimates on the size of North Korea's troop deployment. They say the North Korean soldiers arrived in Russia in October and that some of them have since engaged in combat in the Kursk region. Observers say North Korea's participation in the almost 3-year war threatens to escalate the conflict.
Park Sunwon, another lawmaker who was present at the NIS meeting, made similar comments on the briefing. He said the spy agency couldn’t provide an assessment on possible North Korean casualties.
Moscow said Tuesday that Ukraine fired six U.S.-made ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region, in what would be Kyiv’s first use of the weapon inside Russia. Ukraine’s General Staff did not confirm whether the weapon was used, but said the armed forces struck an ammunition warehouse in the Bryansk region, which neighbors Kursk and was likely supplying Russian forces fighting there.
Since the first year of the war, Ukrainian leaders have lobbied Western allies to allow them to use advanced weapons to strike key targets inside Russia.
FILE- In this undated photo provided on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits to watch an artillery exercise at an undisclosed place in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center left, meets soldiers during a visit to a western operational training base in North Korea Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
FILE - A TV screen shows an image of soldiers believed to be from North Korea stand in line to receive supplies from Russia during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
