Sore groin knocks James out against the Warriors
LeBron James has a sore groin and has been ruled out of the Lakers’ game at Golden State on Thursday night, the team said before f lying to San Francisco on Wednesday.
James scored a seasonhigh 40 points on Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. He was 17 for 27 from the field and five for 11 from three-point range.
James, who had eight rebounds and six assists against the Pelicans, leads the NBA in assists at 10.6 per game.
He’s also averaging 25.5 points and 7.7 rebounds.
He has played in 54 of the Lakers’ 56 games this season, missing one because of groin discomfort.
The Lakers also said that Anthony Davis was listed as probable with a sore left elbow.
Coach Frank Vogel said after practice that Davis “should be good to go” against the Warriors.
Davis was injured against the Pelicans when he missed a shot and then fell onto the Staples Center court.
He hurt it again late in the fourth quarter when blocking a shot and hitting his elbow against the backboard, but Davis finished the game, having played 36:01 and having produced 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Caruso impresses
Before Davis joined the Lakers via trade last summer, he didn’t know much about Alex Caruso.
Davis said the 6-5 wing player is “surprising me every day with his ability.”
“He always seems to make the right play, and he always tends to be in the right position at the right time all the time,” Davis said of the crowd favorite. “He’s tough, big guard, finishes well and shoots well. He reads the defense well. He can defend anybody one through three. He’s gonna lock ’em up.”
Caruso’s defense in the fourth quarter against the Pelicans proved pivotal for the Lakers. He blocked a shot by Lonzo Ball that went off the Pelicans’ guard’s back and out of bounds.
The crowd and Caruso’s teammates went wild as Ball, the former No. 2 overall pick by the Lakers, was sent sprawling to the court.
About 36 seconds later, Caruso stole the ball from Ball and scored on a difficult layup while being fouled by JJ Redick.
Caruso made the free throw for a three-point play that gave the Lakers a fivepoint lead and the momentum they needed to hold off the Pelicans.
“Yeah, it got us going,” Davis said about Caruso’s blocked shot on Ball. “I think we scored on that play. Then he came down and gets a steal and score on that play, he got an and-one. It’s things like that about AC that goes unnoticed . ... We want to make sure that we give him all the credit. He’s a guy that came in from day one, knew his role.
“Some games if [Rajon] Rondo has it going, he [Caruso] don’t see the floor as much, but he always remains a professional and comes in the following game or if he gets thrown to the fire and comes in and does what he’s supposed to do.”
Caruso scored all eight of his points in that fourth quarter.
He had two rebounds and two assists as well as the block and steal in the final quarter.
“I’m a big energy guy, as anybody who has seen us play can attest to,” Caruso said after the game. “And obviously every time we’re in Staples, they love me. I love playing here. So it’s really easy, just a good give and take. They give great energy. I give great energy. We just kind of bounce off each other.”
TONIGHT
AT GOLDEN STATE When: 7:30. On the air: TV: Spectrum SportsNet, TNT; Radio: 710, 1330 Update: The Lakers seek to push their winning streak to seven games against the injury-ravaged Warriors. Golden State has the worst record in the NBA at 12-46 and has lost seven consecutive games. All-Star guard Stephen Curry has been out since October after breaking his left hand but hopes to play Sunday. All-Star forward Draymond Green (pelvic injury) is expected to play against the Lakers. Klay Thompson will miss the season recovering from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament.