Lakers rookie Russell exits with bruised glute
HONOLULU — Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard D’Angelo Russell, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, left Tuesday’s 117-114 loss against the Utah Jazz with a bruised glute that he suffered after crashing to the court in the first quarter.
Russell, who is 6-foot-5, went down after absorbing the brunt of a drive to the hoop from 7-foot-1 Jazz center Rudy Gobert with 7:42 left in the first quarter at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Stan Sheriff Center.
Russell remained on the court for several minutes while teammates and Lakers trainers gathered around him. He was taken to the locker room soon after.
A Lakers spokesman said that had it been a regular-season game, Russell could have returned, but the team elected to sit him out for precautionary reasons.
The Lakers are already on edge when it comes to injuries, specifically regarding their top draft picks. Their 2014 No. 7 overall pick, Julius Randle, suffered a broken leg during his first regular-season game last season.
The Lakers also have led the NBA in consecutive seasons in games missed because of injury and have had several players dinged up throughout training camp here, including rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. (back) and guards Nick Young (back), Marcelo Huertas (hamstring), Anthony Brown (right shoulder) and Jabari Brown (right hand).
In his second game back from rotator cuff surgery, Kobe Bryant scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in just under 21 minutes of action. Bryant played 12 minutes and had five points in Sunday’s exhibition opener.
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