Dalton Knecht Stats Tonight: Lakers rookie tallies first 20-point game since November in blowout loss to Sixers (Jan. 28)

Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht had a promising start in Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers. After a rough stretch in December and through most of January, the first-round pick has been in a groove lately, adjusting well to the Lakers' new offense, which isn't as movement-based.

Knecht showed more flashes of his growing comfort as a catch-and-shoot specialist and cutter. During the first half of the game, Knecht played 10:28 minutes and scored a team-high 13 points. He added a rebound, too. Knecht shot 4 of 5, including 2 of 2 from 3. He made all of his three free-throw attempts.

With Anthony Davis not playing the first quarter with an injury, it opened up Knecht's chances on offense. The Lakers were also without Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt, forcing JJ Redick to lean more on Knecht as a scorer.

Knecht continued his scoring run in the second half after playing extended minutes amid the Lakers' injury woes. Knecht added 11 points in the last two quarters. He shot 4 of 8, including 3 of 6 from 3. He added four rebounds in that stretch. However, Knecht was a +/- -14.

Most of his scoring came in garbage time after the Lakers waived the white flag. LA lost the contest 118-104.

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Dalton Knecht keeps focus on Lakers' season amid Rising Stars nod

Dalton Knecht means business this season. Despite the prestigious Rising Stars nod as a Lakers rookie, the first-round pick cleared his thoughts on Wednesday, saying his focus remains on LA's season.

"It means a lot, it's a good accomplishment," Knecht said after Tuesday's loss. "At the same time, it's just the Rising Stars game. I'm more focused on the season than anything."

Knecht is slowly finding his rhythm and a 24-point outing with a season-high 58% true usage rate against the Sixers was just what he needed. He's making another strong case to keep his spot in JJ Redick's rotation as the Lakers get healthy and seek more perimeter players at the trade market.

It also gave Redick more incentive to lean into Knecht to keep the team's offense afloat with the second unit. Missing a ball-handler like Gabe Vincent was huge, so if Knecht takes that responsibility more, the Lakers would get some much-needed help in that aspect.