(Los Angeles) The Lakers and returning star LeBron James lost 108-118 to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday as the race for the NBA playoffs grew tighter.

Earlier today, the Dallas Mavericks lost (110-104) to the Charlotte Hornets, one of the worst NBA teams.

After a month out with a right foot injury, LeBron James, still considered a doubt on Sunday morning, finally played 30 minutes off the bench. He scored 18 points, took 3 rebounds and provided 2 assists.

This was not enough against the Bulls, carried by Zach LaVine (32 pts) and DeMar DeRozan (17 pts, 10 assists), who confirm their tenth place.

It was only the second time in his career that James came on as a substitute, having met on December 11, 2007.

The Lakers fall to 9th place in the Western Conference, just ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the last franchise to qualify for the play-offs.

Earlier in the day, despite star Luka Doncic’s 40 points and 12 rebounds, Dallas suffered a fourth straight loss, including two to the Hornets. In their last eleven games, the Mavs have lost eight times.

The Texas franchise is still stalling in eleventh place in the standings, in a very tight Western Conference, where only two victories separate seventh from twelfth.

The Mavericks will have to play without Doncic on Monday against the Indiana Pacers, the Slovenian leader having committed a sixteenth technical foul this season, synonymous with a one-game suspension.