LEBRON James and Bronny James officially became the first father and son to play in the NBA together during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 110-103 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning in the Philippines).
LeBron and Bronny checked into the game together with four minutes left in the second quarter and with the Lakers comfortably ahead at 51-35 to the delight of the fans at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Bronny, however, was immediately subbed out by Lakers head coach JJ Redick at the 1:19 mark of the second quarter after the Timberwolves cut the deficit to 42-53.
Bronny had one rebound and missed his two field goal attempts in close to two minutes of action, while LeBron ended with 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
LeBron, a four-time NBA champion and a 20-time All-Star, first spoke about his dream to play alongside Bronny a few years ago, while his oldest son was still in high school.
The dream became a reality after Bronny joined the recent NBA Rookie Draft following one collegiate season, and the Lakers grabbed him with the 55th overall pick.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks, Rui Hachimura added 18 markers, while Austin Reaves and Jaxson Hayes had 12 and 10, respectively.
Anthony Edwards tallied 27 points to lead the Timberwolves, Julius Randle added 16 markers, while Nicael Alexander-Walker, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, and Donte DiVincenzo ended with 14, 13, 12, and 10, respectively.
Meanwhile, Boston Celtics did not show any championship hangover as they cruised to a dominant 132-109 victory over New York Knicks at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jayson Tatum led the way with a double-double of 37 points and 10 assists, Derrick White added 24 markers, while Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Sam Hauser ended with 23, 18, 11, and 10, respectively.
The Celtics, which hung its 18th NBA championship banner prior to the game, were scorching in the season-opener with 29 three-pointers made, tying the league record for most triples made in a single game set by Milwaukee Bucks in 2020.
Jalen Brunson and Mitch McBride led the Knicks with 22 points apiece, Mikal Bridges added 16 markers, while Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart tallied 12 points apiece./PN
BOX SCORE:
LOS ANGELES 110 – Davis 36, Hachimura 18, L. James 16, Reaves 12, Hayes 10, Russell 9, Knecht 5, Vincent 2, Christie 2, B. James 0.
MINNESOTA 103 – Edwards 27, Randle 16, Alexander-Walker 14, Gobert 13, Reid 12, DiVincenzo 10, McDaniels 6, Conley 5, Ingles 0.
Quarterscores: 22-23, 55-42, 82-74, 110-103.
