Bronny James scored two points in 16 minutes, 4 seconds off the bench in his NBA preseason debut as the Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 124-107, Friday evening in the preseason opener for both teams in Palm Desert.
James, the oldest son of LeBron James, missed his first five shots and made his last, a driving layup with 56.9 seconds left. The younger James had one rebound, one assist and one blocked shot.
The Lakers were outscored by 12 when he was on the court, matching their third-worst performance. The team was outscored by 20 in the 10 minutes forward Maxwell Lewis was on the court and 13 in the 24:32 rookie guard Dalton Knecht. The Lakers were also outscored by 12 in the 21:42 starting forward Rui Hachimura was on the court.
The elder James was given the night off by coach JJ Redick as was starting center Anthony Davis.
The James duo could play together in a game for the first time Sunday when the Lakers face the Phoenix Suns, also at Acrisure Arena.
Redick had said Thursday James and Davis would play this weekend but did not specify if or how much they would play Friday or Sunday.
“We’re still talking through what minutes and rotations look like — we have a general idea of what that looks like for all of preseason, but trying to figure out what makes the most sense,” Redick said after practice at UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo. “Our framework for a plan is based on real time and on how these guys feel.”
The Lakers led only once, 5-3, 2:19 into the game and trailed by as many as 22. They trailed 36-23 at the end of the first quarter, 58-49 at halftime and 95-88 entering the fourth quarter.
Austin Reeves and Knecht led five Lakers in double figures with 16 points each, D’Angelo Russell added 14 and Max Christie and Gabe Vincent 11 each.
Forward Josh Minott led six Timberwolves in double figures with 22 in 29:06 off the bench, while rookie guard Rob Dillingham added 21 in 24:38 off the bench and forward Luka Garza 20 in 22:02 off the bnech.
Guard Anthony Edwards, a teammate of LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s basketball team in the Paris Olympics, was also given the night off.