LeBron James returned to the Lakers lineup alongside Luka Dončić … only to be humbled by the Bulls

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James made his return to the lineup for the first time in nearly two weeks.

It wasn’t pretty.

With James back on the court alongside Luka Dončić, the Lakers gave up their most points all season in a 146-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls. By midway through the fourth quarter, Lakers coach JJ Redick had seen enough and emptied his bench.

Dončić scored 17 points in the first quarter and 29 by halftime. He finished with 34 points to go with eight rebounds, six assists and seven turnovers. James had 17 points, six rebounds and five turnovers in 31 minutes.

Bulls guard Josh Giddey nearly posted a quadruple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists and eight steals. It would have been the first quadruple-double in the NBA in nearly 30 years.

The Lakers totaled 21 turnovers as Chicago shot 58.3% from the field and made 19 of 41 3-pointers.

After initially being considered a game-time decision, the Lakers confirmed on Saturday night that James would play against the Bulls. James had been out since March 8 with a groin strain.

James was initially listed as questionable, but planned to warm up and be a game-time decision. James began on-court workouts last Sunday, and ESPN’s Shams Charania said the team would be cautious with his return.

It has been an up-and-down experience for the Lakers since losing James — starting power forward Rui Hachimura also returned Saturday after being sidelined with a knee injury — and the direction has mostly depended on Luka Dončić. They are 3-1 in games since James’ injury when Dončić plays, with the lone loss being against the Milwaukee Bucks in which their entire starting frontcourt was out. They are 0-2 in the games Dončić has missed.

LeBron James returned to the Lakers lineup alongside Luka Dončić only to be humbled by the Bulls - YouTube

The Lakers were coming off another blowout loss Thursday in which Austin Reaves was out in addition to James, Dončić and Hachimura. That group represents the Lakers’ top four scorers. Not coincidentally, James’ son Bronny posted a career high in points with 17 in that game.

With only 12 games left on its regular-season schedule, Los Angeles needs its players to get healthy soon if it wants a chance to play together before the NBA playoffs begin.

In 58 games entering Saturday, James was averaging 25 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists while shooting 52% from the floor (and 38% on 3-pointers). He’d scored 25 or more points in eight of his previous 10 games while the Lakers had won eight consecutive contests before their March 8 loss to Boston.