Despite nursing a bone bruise in his right knee, Lakers forward Jordan Hill will play tonight as a reserve as originally planned when the team plays the Dallas Mavericks tonight at American Airlines Arena.
Hill was on the court wearing a brace on his right knee during the portion of morning shootaround open to the media. Because his MRI conflicted with the Lakers’ travel schedule, Hill rejoined the team Monday night in Dallas via a commercial flight.
Despite playing only 14 minutes per game, Hill has proved promising with his 6.3 points on a league-best 73.3 percent from the field and six rebounds per game. Hill grabbed a key offensive board that set up Pau Gasol’s game-winning free throws in the Lakers’ 105-103 win Sunday over the Atlanta Hawks.
“He was having some swelling and it got a little worse towards the end of last game so just precautionary we had to check it out,” said Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni. “But it turned out OK.”
D’Antoni will field the same starting lineup for the second consecutive game featuring Steve Nash (point guard), Steve Blake (shooting guard), Xavier Henry (small forward), Shawne Williams (power forward) and Gasol (center).
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