Dalton Knecht stats tonight: How did Lakers’ rookie fare against Magic? (March 24)

Dalton Knecht and the LA Lakers started a crucial four-game road trip on Monday with a game against the Orlando Magic. LA, which lost 119-118 at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 21, hoped to get its revenge away from home. The Lakers headed into the game looking to snap a two-game losing slump.

JJ Redick, who usually sends in Knecht late in the first quarter, kept the rookie on the bench in the opening 12 minutes. The coach leaned more on his veterans, particularly with Rui Hachimura on the roster. LA took a 30-26 lead at the end of the period.

Knecht replaced Gabe Vincent to start the second quarter. He opened the LA Lakers’ scoring in the period with a 25-footer off a pass from Austin Reaves. Redick sent Knecht back to the bench after the Magic purposely hunted for him on the defensive end. After a foul on Paolo Banchero, the Lakers coach removed the rookie for Luka Doncic with 7:57 left in the quarter.

Dalton Knecht could not get on the floor as the LA Lakers struggled in the third quarter. Orlando trailed 60-58 at halftime before taking a 92-78 lead entering the fourth period.

JJ Redick benched Knecht in the entire fourth quarter. Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jordan Goodwin earned the lion's share of the minutes off the bench. Despite leaning on the veterans, the Lakers could not turn the game around and lost 118-106.

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
Dalton Knecht	3	0	0	0	0	0	1-1	1-1	0-0	-6

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Dalton Knecht's minutes have dropped with the return of former injured players

Dalton Knecht played solid minutes when the LA Lakers dealt with multiple injuries to key players. When Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Dorian Finney-Smith missed games because of injuries, JJ Redick increased the rookie's playing time. He averaged 26.2 minutes in his first 11 games in March.

Following the return of the veterans, Knecht has hardly played. He has averaged 6.5 MPG in his last two games. Against the Orlando Magic, he sat out the entire second half.

The Lakers are in a tight battle for playoff positioning. They are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 4 spot with a 43-28 record. The Golden State Warriors (41-30) are only two games behind in the race to host a first-round series in the playoffs. The Lakers are also hoping to leapfrog past the Denver Nuggets (45-27) and the Houston Rockets (46-26) for the No. 2 seed.

Only time will tell if Dalton Knecht will get minutes in the Lakers' last 11 games of the season.