Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton stepped up big on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans, helping the team with the 133-121 win. The Lakers didn’t have LeBron James, who was dealing with a foot issue, which allowed Ayton to play big offensively. The Bahamian center had 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks against New Orleans. However, the club decided to remove him from the game due to a slight injury scare late in the game.
In the fourth quarter, Ayton bumped knees with rookie center Derik Queen. The younger big man posted up, and his knees happened to collide with DA’s. After the possession, the Lakers center was in visible pain, holding his right knee. Head coach JJ Redick wasted no time calling a timeout to check on their starting center.
Reporters questioned Ayton about the condition of his knees following the competition. He downplayed any signs of serious injuries and told the media that he’s doing fine.
“He kind tweaked the little collision I had the other day in Utah,” Ayton said. “JJ said he was going to sub me out regardless. It was good timing. It cooled down after the game, so I’m good now.
Deandre Ayton on knocking knees late in the game: “It cooled down … I’m good now” pic.twitter.com/CYKKMb5wPf
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 1, 2025
“It was like a little tweak in the ankle, almost. There wasn’t anything crazy. I just really felt it there and [the] same time, JJ was bringing somebody in the game to sub me.”
According to reports, Redick told the media that Deandre Ayton was in “high spirits” after the game. His interview in the locker room confirmed that he didn’t feel the injury was anything serious.
The Lakers need the former Arizona big man on Monday, as they’ll face his former team, the Phoenix Suns.
JJ Redick appreciates that Deandre Ayton understands the Lakers’ offense
Deandre Ayton is one of the newest faces on the Lakers roster this season. Like any new player, it took him a while to understand the team’s offense. After the team’s 129-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, JJ Redick told the media that he appreciates how Ayton now understands how they operate.
“I had a great conversation with [Ayton] this morning,” Redick said. “It was essentially [that] he’s doing a great job of understanding how the offense is being run and who the offense is being run through and then playing off of that, which we saw tonight. But the other point is his ability to punish smaller defenders. It’s something as a team, it’s not on him, it’s something as a team we’ve got to get better at.
Before their game against the Pelicans, the big man had put up 15.6 points and 8.4 rebounds through 16 games.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
