Andre Drummond played his first game for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Milwaukee Bucks at Staples Center on Wednesday, and the purple and gold lost to the Bucks 112-97 at home.

As a surprise, Drummond was put in the starting lineup, replacing Marc Gasol. During his 14 minutes on the floor, Drummond was 2-6 in field goals to get four points, one rebound, two assists and one block. He also committed four fouls, three turnovers and allowed two blocks. He suffered a right big toe contusion early in the third quarter, according to ESPN. Drummond then returned to the locker room and never came back. X-ray result came back negative, according to the Lakers.

It's too early to evaluate Drummond's role in the Lakers, especially when he played only 14 minutes in the first game. When the team were hot from the 3-point line – the whole team went 8-13 in the first quarter – Drummond can enjoy decent spacing inside. The two shots he made were a floater and a layup after setting screen for Dennis Schroder. Drummond even delivered an assist for Schroder on the triple line.

However, such a refreshing performance from Drummond only happens when he was not facing too much pressure. As the Lakers' shooters' hands grew cold from Q2, Drummond found that he was surrounded by more and more defenders, and that's when his offensive choices began to get problematic.

Despite his size, wingspan and athleticism, Drummond has never been as efficient as other big men like JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard when he's working under the rim. That meant he needed a certain number of opportunities created for him to start making contributions on offense. Meanwhile, Drummond sometimes dribbled too much, and his protection of the ball is not good enough. 

When he holds the ball for too long around the free throw line, it usually ends in one of the three following ways: It gets stolen; he tries a sloppy pass, or he tries an even sloppier jumper. The Lakers would want him to do some simple work and do it well instead of getting too "creative."

Drummond's defensive performance was more comforting. His size and power make his presence a problem in the paint for the opponents trying to charge the Lakers' rim. Moreover, Drummond is fast enough to come out and ball pressure perimeter players.

Of course, the result of Wednesday's game did not have much to do with Drummond. The Lakers only made two triples from the second quarter until the end of the game, so they had to keep challenging Brook Lopez and Antetokounmpo in the paint. That did not work well since the Bucks allowed the fourth-fewest points in that area this season. Furthermore, as Drummond quit, the Lakers lost their rim protection as well. Gasol received some time from Q3, but he's not in 100 percent form either physically or mentally.

Other games on Wednesday (away teams come first):

Miami Heat 92-87 Indiana Pacers

Jerami Grant scored a team-high of 30 points for the Pistons, and he finished a "Dunk of the Month" over Robert Covington in the game. Nonetheless, his efforts were not even close to getting his team a win.

Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum together drained nine triples to score 57 points and 16 assists, making the Trail Blazers warm and comfortable at Little Caesars Arena. Covington made key contributions to with four 3-pointers. He has buried 22 shots from downtown in the recent seven games.

Miami Heat 92-87 Indiana Pacers

The Heat have been struggling with their offense recently, so their solution was to allow their opponents fewer points. At Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday, the Heat limited the Pacers to 40 percent on the field and 29.73 percent in 3-pointers. The Pacers' All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis took only eight attempts and missed half of them to get only nine points.

Duncan Robinson became the Heat's best-performing player as he went 6-11 from the arc to score court-high 20 points.

Dallas Mavericks 113-108 Boston Celtics

Luka Doncic went 11-15 in field goals to drop 36 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Mavericks. This is the 46th time for him to get at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in one game, and Doncic is very close to matching Dirk Nowitzki (47) in that area.

The Celtics missed 20 triples in the first half, which happened only three times before Wednesday in franchise history. They came so close to dragging the game into overtime with a crazy 35-23 run in the last quarter but still suffered the second loss in a row.

Houston Rockets 108-120 Brooklyn Nets

James Harden hosted his former teammates of the Rockets at Barclays Center on Wednesday. Unfortunately, he quitted after playing 26 minutes because of right hamstring tightness. So far this season he has averaged 38.2 minutes on the floor, the third-longest of the league. He has played 40 minutes per game in the past four games. He needs to catch a break if the Nets do not want him to follow in Kevin Durant's footsteps.

Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris carried Harden's duty on Wednesday. Irving put down 31 points and delivered 12 assists. Harris went 7-12 from downtown. After this win, the Nets surpassed the Philadelphia 76ers to lead the East.

Utah Jazz 111-107 Memphis Grizzlies

The Jazz beat the Grizzlies on the road despite Donovan Mitchell's absence. It is the team's seventh straight win and the third win in a row over the Grizzlies. The good news for the Grizzles is that they won't meet the Jazz anymore in this regular season. However, the bad news is that if they make the playoffs, there's a good chance that they will have to challenge the Western Conference's leader again.

New York Knicks 101-102 Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves saved themselves from a third consecutive loss edging over the Knicks at Target Center on Wednesday. Their first-year rookie Anthony Edwards contributed 24 points. He averaged 24.2 points per game in March, and that's the third-highest for first-year players in a month for at least 10 games, only next to LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.

Toronto Raptors 103-113 Oklahoma City Thunder

The Raptors suffered their fourth loss in a row and the 13th loss of the recent 14 games. They are currently No. 11 in the East with an 18-30 record. The only highlight for them in Wednesday's game was that 22-year-old Gary Trent Jr., whom the Raptors landed at the NBA trade deadline, scored court-high 31 points.

Sacramento Kings 106-120 San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs got vengeance on the Kings for the loss on Monday. Seven of the players reached double-digit points, led by DeMar DeRozan's 26 points, five rebounds and seven assists. The Kings' back-court duo De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield missed 24 shots on the field and committed six turnovers.

Chicago Bulls 116-121 Phoenix Suns

Devin Booker was 17-24 to put down season-high 45 points for the Suns at home on Wednesday. Chris Paul had 19 points, but he delivered 14 assists while committing only one turnover.

The Bulls put three big men, Nikola Vucevic, Lauri Markkanen and Thaddeus Young, in their starting unit for the game. The other two, Tomas Satoransky and Patrick Williams, are over two meters as well. Coach Billy Donovan said he wanted to try if Markkanen could play small forward.

If the Bulls still want to work for playoff qualification, might not want to do too many experiments like this ranking No. 10 in the East.