Dalton Knecht stats tonight: Lakers rookie ties career-low vs Jimmy Butler’s Heat (Dec. 4) 

Dalton Knecht was seeking a bounce-back game against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, coming off his worst two-game stretch as a starter. In the LA Lakers' previous two games, he averaged just 6.0 points on 27.8% shooting, including an abysmal 10.0% from beyond the arc on five attempts per game.

Instead of rebounding, however, Knecht delivered one of the worst games of his young career — and his poorest as a starter.

Knecht, making his fifth straight start at shooting guard for LA, struggled in the first quarter, missing his only attempt and committing two turnovers.

The rookie made his first field goal with seven seconds left in the first half. He had two points, two rebounds and two steals in the first half, where the Lakers trailed 69-52.

Knecht had a quiet second half, logging just seven minutes of play. He attempted one shot but missed, though he managed to contribute three assists. He ended the game with only two points, matching his career low.

Below are Knecht's stats.

PLAYER	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OREB	DREB	STL	BLK	TO	PF	=+/-
Dalton Knecht	22:45	2	2	1	1	4	25.0	0	2	0.0	0	0	0.0	1	1	2	1	3	0	-20

Anthony Davis praises Dalton Knecht for adding spacing to Lakers’ starting lineup

November marked a standout month for LA Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht. After spending most of October coming off the bench, he started seven of the team’s 14 games the next month.

Lakers big man Anthony Davis noted that inserting Knecht into the starting lineup brought much-needed scoring and floor spacing thanks to his shooting ability.

“Spacing. He’s a shooter. He can shoot the basketball and was able to get some open shots,” Davis said of the rookie (per Spectrum).

“So he brings a different dynamic to us whether that’s in the starting unit or the second unit. But specifically with that starting unit, he creates that spacing for us and when we swing it to him we know he’s gonna knock down the shot.”

Dalton Knecht is among the top-scoring rookies in the league, averaging 11.6 points per game on 47.6% shooting, including 41.0% from beyond the arc. In his first seven starts, the Lakers posted a 5-2 record.

LeBron James also praised Knecht for his adaptability and expressed confidence that the rookie would continue to improve despite his mistakes.

"Dalton fits in anything you want to do,” James said (per Fadeaway World). “So he's going to continue to make his mistakes, which is okay as a rookie, obviously, his first time experiencing these things for the first time in this league."

Dalton Knecht is arguably the Lakers’ top offseason acquisition, especially after they missed out on several free-agent targets and have yet to make a trade.