Andre Drummond started the game but was not in the lineup to open the second half before briefly retaking the court.
Andre Drummond’s debut with the Los Angeles Lakers was cut short due to a bruised right toe that sent him limping to the locker room.
Drummond scored four points in 14 minutes before leaving the court early in the third quarter after trying to play without the toenail on his big right toe. The nail was completely ripped off in the first quarter when Bucks center Brook Lopez stepped on Drummond’s foot, but Drummond said he did not notice the extent of the injury until halftime, even though it was “very, very painful.”
“To have this happen to me in the first game is kind of deflating for me, but my head is high,” said Drummond, who hadn’t played in a game for Cleveland since Feb. 12. “I’m going to take it game by game and come back better than ever.”
X-rays were negative on Los Angeles’ new center, but the bruise adds another injury problem to the Lakers’ list ahead of a tough schedule in April. James missed his sixth straight game for the Lakers with a sprained right ankle, and Davis missed his 20th consecutive game with a right calf injury.
Drummond started for the Lakers in his first NBA game in 6 1/2 weeks, but he wasn’t on the floor to start the second half while getting treatment on his toe. He checked in and made it through just a few more possessions before taking himself out of the game in clear pain.
The Lakers signed Drummond last weekend after 8 1/2 NBA seasons in Detroit and Cleveland.