Lebron James injured in loss, 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.
“I haven’t necessarily seen him scream and squall like that, probably ever, not even with that groin,” said Kyle Kuzma, who was with the Lakers when James missed 17 games with a groin injury two seasons ago. “It had to hurt a little bit, for sure.”
After the injury, James hit a corner 3-pointer that extended his Nba-record 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.
“The mood of the team is we’re disappointed we lost, and we’ve got to come back and get one tomorrow,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “I won’t disclose what Lebron was like (in the locker room). It’s in-house.”
76ERS 129, KINGS 105 >> Tobias Harris scored 23 of his 29 points in the first half and fell just short of a triple-double to lead the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers over the Sacramento Kings.
The Eastern Conference-leading 76ers (29-13) played without starters Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Seth Curry.
Shake Milton had 28 points and Danny Green scored 18 for Philadelphia. Harris added 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Embiid has missed four straight games with a bruised left knee and is expected to be re-evaluated late this week. Simmons experienced knee soreness at the morning shootaround and was a surprise late scratch. Curry injured his left ankle in Wednesday’s 109-105 loss to Milwaukee.
Buddy Hield scored 25 points and De’aaron Fox added 16 for Sacramento, which dropped to 2-3 on a six-game road trip that concludes Monday at Cleveland. The Kings (17-25) entered 2½ games behind Memphis for the No. 10 seed.