It’s the Lakers’ Knight

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —  The pursuit of reality in sight and sound inside Continental Airlines Arena continued Monday night. At the home of the New Jersey Nets, so desperate for atmosphere that they have taken to piping in fake crowd noise, Travis Knight appeared anew in the Lakers’ 109-84 victory, making everyone wonder if it’s real or a mirage.

The Lakers, of course, have seen plenty of both already in his rookie season, from Knight the project to major contributor to starting power forward to whatever-became-of, his most recent role. But come the end of the five-game trip, with them looking to recover from back-to-back mega-losses, no one came back more than he did, all the way to 18 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.

The Lakers had it easy by comparison--they were only coming off a crusher of an emotional loss Friday at Miami and a crushing at the hands of the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Knight, he was practically back to December, a time that was equal in contribution but at least filled with hope because the only place to go was up.

More recently, his potential had surfaced and then disappeared again, his starting job and spot in the rotation going with it. In the previous 14 games, he had averaged 2.4 points and 2.9 rebounds and shot 34.9% in only 13.9 minutes. He had the look of lost confidence.

Then came Monday, practically from out of nowhere.

“We had seen a little gradual improvement on this trip from Travis,” Coach Del Harris said after the Lakers finished their last extended journey of the season with a 3-2 mark. “Today, this is really going to be a boost for him because this was one of his best outings of the season. That’s why it’s so important in a long season to remember that if you do stay with the program, it will come back to you.

“This was an outstanding game. How many guys in the league have 18 and 14? Those are pretty good stats. And for a rookie, those are exciting numbers. Obviously, consistency is the thing we’re looking for. The good thing about a game like this is, it shows what you’re capable of.”

Everyone already knew what he was capable of. The reminder is what they needed.

Knight’s last appearance of significance was the 18 points--setting the season high he tied against the Nets--and 13 rebounds in the Feb. 23 double-overtime loss to the New York Knicks at the Forum. In the 14 games that followed, the slump that included the lost spot in the opening lineup because of a minor injury and then never getting it back since the timing coincided with Corie Blount’s hot streak, his biggest offensive output was eight points. That came Sunday against the Magic.

Against the Nets, the team that helped cost him the starting job because it was an accidental elbow from Eric Montross that caused the minor eye injury, he got early minutes as Harris again looked to spark some his struggling players. Six came in the first quarter, even if the production was two points and one rebound.

The big move came in the third quarter, when the Lakers’ did too. He got seven rebounds and they got an 11-point cushion after leading only 54-53 near the start of the half. Even when things went wrong they went right--he missed two shots on the same possession late in the period, but both were while being aggressive inside, both on tips that were also offensive rebounds.

Of the 14 rebounds Knight eventually grabbed, one shy of his season high, six were on offense. He also made eight of 12 shots, earning 30 minutes.

“Yeah,” he said later, “I needed it. We needed it as a team too, to end the road trip on a solid note.

“I felt good in the Orlando game. Obviously, it was hard to feel good about that one with the outcome. But I felt real comfortable. I played here when I was at UConn, so I guess I had a head start.”

The good ending followed.

“Man, it felt really good,” he said.

Looked like it too.