Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers lost 123-116 to the Golden State Warriors, as they couldn't throw a pea in the ocean during the first three quarters and compounded that deficiency by giving up 14 offensive rebounds and 23 second-chance points to the Warriors.
They will hit the court at Crypto.com Arena once again on Friday when they host the New Orleans Pelicans, a team that has the second-worst record in the Western Conference and is without several of its best players.
The Lakers may not need him to win this game, but starting forward Rui Hachimura will be held out on Friday. He is listed as out of action due to a case of patellar tendinopathy that recently forced him to miss about a month of action.
Rui Hachimura is out tonight, per the Lakers pic.twitter.com/KlR28Gjumc
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 4, 2025
Shortly after his return in late March, Hachimura said he won't be back to 100% until the offseason when he gets some extended rest.
After Friday's game, the Lakers will face a severe test when they play road games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have an NBA-best 64-12 record, on Sunday and Tuesday.
Hachimura had an excellent performance versus Golden State on Thursday. He scored 24 points and shot 9-of-15 from the field while hitting half of his 3-point attempts, and he also chipped in six rebounds and three assists.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Rui Hachimura injury: Is Lakers forward playing tonight vs Pelicans?
