Marcelo Huertas/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers point guard Marcelo Huertas, a 32-year-old rookie out of Brazil, was on the court in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 90-87 loss to the New York Knicks at Staples Center, instead of 20-year-old rookie D’Angelo Russell.

Huertas scored nine points and doled out two assists while grabbing four rebounds. Guard Lou Williams, who played for the first time after missing five games with a hamstring injury, liked what he saw from Huertas and the rest of the second unit.

“It’s just that we play together,” said Williams, who scored 15 points off the bench. “I think Marcelo does a great job of keeping everything organized. For whatever reason, we’re just a selfless group. We don’t really care who gets the credit. Everybody has a role on that second group and we just go out and try to execute the best we can.”

Russell also praised Huertas.

“He knows the game,” Russell said. “People look at him and, I don’t know, you probably would say he doesn’t fit the eye test. But the guy knows his game. He knows basketball. He makes the right play 90 percent of the time.”