Giants injuries: Buster Posey has hip tightness; Alex Wood to undergo spine procedure.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Giants catcher Buster Posey was scratched from Tuesday night’s lineup with right hip tightness.
Posey, who underwent hip surgery in August 2018, isn’t expected to miss much time, manager Gabe Kapler said before the RangersGiants exhibition at Scottsdale Stadium.
“It’s not something we’re concerned about,” said Kapler, adding Posey might be rested through Saturday’s off day “just to be cautious. I just want to stress it’s something we’re not concerned about, and this is really a precautionary measure.”
Posey, 33, hasn’t played in a regularseason game since 2019. He opted out of the 2020 season. He felt irritation the past couple of days and was replaced in the lineup by Joey Bart.
Meantime, pitcher Alex Wood underwent an ablation Tuesday, a procedure that was performed by Dr. Allan Rowley in Scottsdale to reduce pain by removing a portion of the nerve tissue.
Kapler said the Giants aren’t ruling out Wood, who signed as a free agent ($3 million), for the seasonopening rotation even though the opener is just more than two weeks away.
Wood, 30, who missed time with back issues in 2019, saw a spine specialist Monday, and Kapler said, “He’s going to be able to go at his tolerance after the procedure . ... I don’t want to make any definitive predictions here, and we’ll stay open.”
Without Wood, who’d be the only lefty in the rotation, the Giants would be covered with Logan Webb, who has had a strong training camp with three scoreless outings.
Damian Lillard had 50 points and 10 assists, and the Trail Blazers came from behind to beat the Pelicans 125124 in Portland on Tuesday night.
Lillard, who finished with six 3pointers, made two clutch free throws with 1.2 seconds left for for Portland, which trailed New Orleans by as many as 17 points. It was Lillard’s fifth game this season with 40 or more points.
Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and Zion Williamson added 28 for the Pelicans. Lonzo Ball had 11 points and a seasonhigh 17 assists.
Nickeil AlexanderWalker had 20 points, including six 3pointers, off the bench for New Orleans. His 3 midway through the fourth stretched the Pelicans’ lead to 11296.
CJ McCollum, who was out with a fractured left foot, returned and finished with 10 points in 27 minutes. McCollum was averaging a careerbest 26.7 points, as well as five assists, when he was injured during a game against the Hawks on Jan. 16. McCollum started, but head coach Terry Stotts said before the game that his minutes would be limited.
Lakers 137, Timberwolves 121: LeBron James and Montrezl Harrell each scored 25 points as host Los Angeles, which led by a point at halftime, rallied in the second half for the easy victory. Minnesota, which had wins over Portland and New Orleans in its past three games, got 29 points each from Karl-Anthony Towns and rookie guard Anthony Edwards.
Jazz 117, Celtics 109: Donovan Mitchell had eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and visiting Utah hit 19 3-pointers to beat Boston. Jordan Clarkson added 20 points off the bench as the Jazz swept the season series. Boston, led by Jayson Tatum’s 29 points, led by 11 in the first half before fading down the stretch.
Bulls 123, Thunder 102: Zach LaVine scored 40 points on 15-for-20 shooting, and host Chicago beat Oklahoma City. Chicago shot 51% (48-for-94) from the field. The All-Star guard was 7-for-12 from 3-point range. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points for Oklahoma City, which had won three of four.
Hawks 119, Rockets 107: Danilo Gallinari scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half and visiting Atlanta beat Houston, dealing the Rockets a franchise-record-tying 17th straight loss. Atlanta won its sixth straight, matching its longest run since the first month of the 2016-17 season. Houston’s losing skid ties the the franchise record by the San Diego Rockets in the team’s inaugural 1967-68 season. The Rockets haven’t won since Feb. 4.
Heat 113, Cavaliers 98: Jimmy Butler had 28 points and 12 rebounds, Bam Adebayo returned from a knee issue and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and host Miami eased past Cleveland to win for the 11th time in 12 games. Collin Sexton scored 21 for Cleveland, which got 16 points and eight rebounds from JaVale McGee in 21 minutes.
76ers 99, Knicks 96: Tobias Harris scored 30 points, Seth Curry had 20 and host Philadelphia beat New York for its sixth straight win. Julius Randle had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, and RJ Barrett added 17 points.