LeBron James made his return to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup after a seven-game absence due to a left groin strain.

He could do nothing to help prevent a dominant Bulls performance, though, as Chicago piled up 146 points in a 31-point victory. Coby White scored 36 and rookie Matas Buzelis had 31. Josh Giddey flirted with a quadruple-double collecting 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists, and eight steals.

James played 31 minutes, scoring 17 points to along with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He shot 7-of-16 from the field, had five turnovers, and was a team-worst minus-27.

“A little rusty,” James said when asked how he felt about his performance. “A little rusty but I was happy to get back out there.”

Luka Doncic finished with 34 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in 32 minutes including eight three-pointers. Ball handling was an issue, though, with seven turnovers.

Rui Hachimura also made his return from injury in this one, playing 18 minutes off the bench.

Fatigue A Factor As Lakers Defense Falls Apart?

The 146 points the Lakers allowed was the most they’ve conceded all season. Making it all the more surprising is that the Lakers defense has actually been pretty good since the acquisition of Doncic. One would have thought the returns of James and Hachimura would have helped.

“Give up 44 points in the paint. Our turnovers killed us all night which led to them getting shots in transition,” head coach JJ Redick said after the game. “I thought we did a poor job contesting, they were 5-for-22 from three at the half and I think they were 14-for-19 in the second…

“I don’t know if we assumed because we had everybody back that it was just gonna be like it was three weeks ago.”

One major factor to be considered here is fatigue. The Lakers were playing their seventh game in just 10 days, a stretch that has included three sets of back-to-backs.

It was a daunting task to get through the previous games without James, and perhaps there was a bit of exhaling in relief that cost them.