LeBron injures right ankle in loss to Hawks, will be out indefinitely
LeBron James left in the second quarter with a high right ankle sprain that the Lakers said will sideline him indefinitely, and Los Angeles went on to fall 99-94 to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
Two hours after the game, the Lakers announced that James is out indefinitely. The defending NBA champions already are without All-NBA big man Anthony Davis, who has missed 14 consecutive games with a right calf injury and likely won't play again until April.
“Nothing angers and saddens me more than not being available to and for my teammates!” James tweeted later Saturday. “I’m hurt inside and out right now. The road back from recovery begins now. Back soon like I never left.”
James was hurt when he rolled his ankle under Solomon Hill, who was called for a foul as he reached awkwardly for a steal. The 36-year-old superstar screamed and fell to the court clutching at his ankle, yet he got up and briefly stayed in the game.
After the injury, James hit a corner three-pointer that extended his NBArecord streak of games with at least 10 points to 1,036, but he called a timeout and left the court shortly afterward. James knocked over a chair in frustration as he went to
the locker room.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
Thunder 114, Rockets 112:
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Houston lost its teamrecord 20th straight game, falling to visiting Oklahoma City when John Wall missed two shots in the final 10 seconds. The skid is tied for the ninth-worst in NBA history and the longest since Philadelphia’s record-setting 28game losing streak across the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
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Nets 113, Wizards 106:
Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and James Harden had 26 to lead host Brooklyn to a victory over Washington. Blake Griffin dunked for the first time since December 2019 in his Nets debut and Nicolas
Claxton added 16 points, including two three-point plays down the stretch to help hold off the Wizards.
Celtics 112, Magic
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96: Jaylen Brown hit a career-high 10 3-pointers and scored 34 points, Jayson Tatum added 23 and host Boston beat Orlando to snap a threegame losing streak. The Celtics made 23 threepointers, one short of the franchise record. Brown was 10 for 18 from the distance.
Pelicans 113, Nuggets
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108: Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson each scored 30 points and New Orleans’ overcame another triple-double by Nikola Jokic to beat host Denver. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 points for the Pelicans. Jokic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 11 tripledouble of the season and 52nd overall.
Bulls 100, Pistons 86: ●
Laurie Markkanen had 16 points and eight rebounds and Chicago used a strong defensive performance for
a win over host Detroit.
ELSEWHERE
Hornets: Charlotterookie ● LaMelo Ball is expected to miss the remainder of the NBA season due to a broken right wrist, according to a person familiar with the situation.