Lonzo Ball has 5 points for Bulls in first game since 2022 - ESPN

NEW ORLEANS — When Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball checked in during the first quarter Wednesday, his first regular-season game in more than two years, he did so without fanfare.

He had been through an emotional return in the preseason — when he played in an NBA game for the first time following a cartilage transplant in his left knee in March 2023 — and his teammates gifted him the game ball and celebrated him in the locker room.

But against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, he played in his first regular-season game since Jan. 14, 2022, recording 5 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes in a 123-111 Chicago loss.

Afterward, Ball downplayed the significance of this latest milestone.

«It felt pretty similar to the preseason games, to be honest,» Ball said. «Same shots was there. Same minutes was there. Just about capitalizing on the time I'm out there.»

The Bulls plan to bring Ball off the bench and limit his minutes to 14-16 per game for at least the foreseeable future, according to coach Billy Donovan. Wednesday marked the first time Ball came off the bench since Dec. 20, 2019.

«For him, he's been able to wrap his head around the fact that this is my new norm,» Donovan said before the game. «This is my reality.»

However, Ball said his most important contribution was just being available.

He appeared in three short stints against the Pelicans, which included knocking down his first shot of the game, a 3-pointer in the first quarter. He checked in for a more extended stretch during the second quarter, playing seven minutes. His final appearance came in the third, when he was limited to about three minutes before he hit his restriction for the night.

Donovan said he saved a few minutes for Ball in case the