LEBRON JAMES may miss multiple weeks with the Los Angeles Lakers because of an injury to his right foot, a person familiar with the situation said Monday night.
The full extent of the injury is not yet known and more test results were pending, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither James nor the Lakers announced anything about a long-term absence.
The Lakers had already ruled James—the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) all-time leading scorer—out for Tuesday’s game at Memphis with what they called right foot soreness.
James played 37 minutes in the Lakers’ 111-108 win at Dallas on Sunday, helping Los Angeles rally from a 27-point deficit. But he left the arena with a pronounced limp, with video from The Dallas Morning News showing how much the foot was bothering him.
He got hurt in the third quarter, grabbing at the ankle after spending some time on the floor in obvious pain. But he stayed in to finish the game, noting how important it was to the Lakers’ playoff hopes.
“It’s been better,” James said. “But I definitely wasn’t going to locker room and not finish the game. The importance of this game and then the momentum that we had, I felt like we could steal one after being down.”
James leads the Lakers in scoring at 29.5 points per game, and said at the All-Star break earlier this month that the team’s closing stretch this season would be some of the most important games he has played—noting he didn’t want to miss the postseason for a second consecutive year.
The Lakers (29-32) started Monday 12th in the Western Conference, a game from 10th and the final spot in the play-in tournament, and only 2 1/2 games behind Dallas in the race for sixth. The top six teams in each conference are guaranteed playoff berths.
If James—a 19-time All-Star, playing in his 20th NBA season—misses extended time, the Lakers’ task of getting in figures to become significantly tougher.
Anthony Davis, meanwhile, dunked a missed shot and screamed after giving the Los Angeles Lakers the lead for good over the Mavericks with two minutes to go.
So much for the 27-point deficit in a showcase of stars that went from a laugher to a thriller with 13 fourth-quarter lead changes.
Davis had 30 points and 15 rebounds and the Lakers completed their biggest rally in 21 years, beating the same team again on Sunday.
The fourth win in five games for LA came after trailing by 27 in the middle of the second quarter—the same deficit the Lakers faced at the start of the fourth at home against Dallas on December 6, 2002, before finishing a 30-point rally in a 105-103 victory.
“The guys never got discouraged,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “They had that look of frustration, but it wasn’t a look of defeatedness on their faces. Everybody just wanted to stay encouraged.”
Luka Doncic scored 26 points for the Mavs, but the youngest of the four superstars was limited and frustrated, largely by the defense of Jarred Vanderbilt, after a 14-point first quarter that sent Dallas on its way to the huge lead.
Kyrie Irving had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas, but didn’t take over in the fourth quarter the way he did in his first victory with Doncic since the trade from Brooklyn—over lowly San Antonio.
“We have to grow up if we want to win a championship,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “What the Lakers just showed us is it’s not the rabbit that wins; it’s the turtle. And they worked the game. And that’s what we have to get better at.”
Davis and James were the fourth-quarter standouts as trade acquisition D’Angelo Russell sat out after spraining his ankle in a victory over defending champion Golden State in the previous game.
The Lakers had what looked like an ankle scare with James as the rally was gaining steam in the third quarter, with the recently crowned all-time scoring leader staying down for several minutes holding his lower right leg. He stayed in the game.
“It’s been better,” said James, who limped through the tunnel after the game. “But I definitely wasn’t going to locker room and not finish the game. The importance of this game and then the momentum that we had, I felt like we could steal one after being down.”
After the injury, James hit a tying 3-pointer to start the fourth, then another bucket for LA’s first lead since the middle of the first quarter.
After Davis’ rebound and dunk for a 104-103 lead with 2:00 remaining, James scored for a three-point edge.
The Mavericks were still down three with 15 seconds left when an inbound pass from Irving to Doncic was headed toward the backcourt. Doncic ran to save it from going into the backcourt, thinking it would be a turnover if he didn’t.
Davis grabbed the loose ball, forcing Dallas to foul. Doncic could have let the ball go past midcourt without Dallas losing possession.
Irving said he threw the ball toward the backcourt to give Doncic more room, and figured the soon-to-be 24-year-old would know he could let it cross midcourt.
“Once I saw him try to save it from half court, I looked at him about a minute later, ‘You know you could go backcourt?’” Irving said. “He’s like, ‘Ah, man, that’s my fault.’ This is what it’s going to be like when you’re learning in-game with one another.”
Vanderbilt, another trade pickup for LA, had 15 points, 17 rebounds and four steals, including two during a 12-0 third-quarter run that got the deficit inside 10 for the first time since late in the first.
Image credits: AP