Horton-Tucker is currently the only member of the Lakers that is in the NBA's health and safety protocols.
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The Los Angeles Lakers have canceled Tuesday’s practice after Talen Horton-Tucker tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced. The Lakers were originally scheduled to fly to Dallas on Tuesday afternoon to face the Mavericks on Wednesday, but the flight was delayed after the positive COVID test. Horton-Tucker is currently the only member of the Lakers that is in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Had he boarded the team flight, others might have been exposed.
Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker has entered health and safety protocols and could miss multiple games, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Lakers cancelled practice today.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 14, 2021
The Lakers already lost LeBron James to the COVID protocols earlier in the season, but he missed only a single game before returning to the floor. Teams around the league are dealing with far more substantial absences, though. The Chicago Bulls have had two games delayed, and coincidentally, their first game back is scheduled for Sunday against these very Lakers. The Brooklyn Nets currently have five players in the health and safety protocols.
Also read: Chicago Bulls next 2 games postponed due to covid-19 outbreak
Still, losing Horton-Tucker is just the latest absence for a Lakers team that has still not played a single game with its full roster available. Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn have not yet played this season, and Anthony Davis is currently dealing with knee soreness. Horton-Tucker is coming off of one of his best games of the season, a 19-point, six-steal outing in a win over the Orlando Magic.
Anyone who tests positive can return either 10 days after their first positive test or when they’ve registered two negative tests 24 hours apart. James was cleared after his positive test was found to be a false positive. As positive tests continue to pop up around the league, it appears as though more and more players are going to be forced to miss time.
Stephen Curry was already the NBA’s 3-point king. On Tuesday night, he made it official. With his second 3-pointer in the Golden State Warriors’ matchup against the New York Knicks, Curry passed Ray Allen to become the NBA’s all-time leader with 2,974 career 3-pointers. Curry entered the game two 3-pointers away from breaking the record, and made the historic basket with 7:33 left in the first quarter on Tuesday night.
Curry’s accomplishment is all the more remarkable considering it took Allen 1,300 career games to set the previous mark. Curry broke the record in just his 789th career game, adding to his long list of NBA 3-point records, including career 3-pointers per game (3.8), 3-pointers in a single season (402), most games with double-digit 3-pointers (22) and most 3s in a calendar month (96). Earlier this season, Curry passed Allen’s mark of most career 3-pointers in the regular season and postseason combined.
