James to play with injury

Depending on who is answering the question, Miami Heat forward Lebron James might have dislocated his left ring finger during Monday’s 105-90 loss at the Indiana Pacers.

James said Wednesday that he dislocated it and popped the finger back into place. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said James’ finger wasn’t dislocated.

An X-ray revealed no break, and James will play today vs. the Dallas Mavericks.

“He practiced today, and he’s ready to go, and he had a very good practice, a physical practice,” Spoelstra said. “If he can get through a practice like this, he can get through any game.”

James was hurt in the first quarter Monday. He had the finger taped, returned to the game and finished with 24 points and nine rebounds.

Miami, however, is more concerned about going 8-6 this month, losing two games in a row three times.

“Every team goes through this. Sometimes you have slippage,” Spoelstra said. “And this season’s been a challenge for everybody. It’s not an excuse. . . . In the last three weeks on the road, we have not been able to consistently play with energy or efficiency.”

Bynum benched:

Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown benched star Kobe Bryant, having an off shooting game, in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

He followed by benching Andrew Bynum in Tuesday’s win vs. the Golden State Warriors after the 7-foot center clanked a three-pointer with 16 seconds left on the shot clock early in the third quarter. Bynum did not return until the start of the fourth quarter.

Bynum later said he would do it again. He hit his only threepointer of the season in eight tries in the loss to Memphis.

“I don’t know what was bench-worthy about the shot, to be honest with you,” Bynum said. “I made one (vs. Memphis), and I wanted to make another one. I swear, that’s it. I guess he took offense to it.”

After Wednesday’s practice, Brown defended his move. “That’s something (the threepointer) that I felt could’ve taken us out of rhythm, and that’s why I took him out of the game,” Brown said.

He added that Bynum, who wasn’t available to news reporters, had a great practice.

Stoudemire out:

Just when the New York Knicks started to get the production from Amar’e Stoudemire that they needed, they have lost the forward for two to four weeks with a bulg- ing disk in his lower back.

Stoudemire, who missed Monday’s win against the Milwaukee Bucks, won’t have surgery now and could return for the last nine games. If it’s four weeks, he would be available for the first round of the playoffs if the Knicks qualify.

The Knicks are 2½ games ahead of the Bucks for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after routing the Orlando Magic 108-86 Wednesday.

Ankle woes:

Stephen Curry’s right ankle still isn’t 100%, and the Golden State Warriors guard could miss the rest of the season.

Curry saw a specialist in Los Angeles this week and will return in two weeks for an evaluation that will determine if he can play again this season.

He had surgery on the ankle in the offseason, has rolled it or injured his foot several times and last played March 11.

First-year coach Mark Jackson’s guarantee that the Warriors would be a playoff team with a Curry- Monta Ellis backcourt became moot when Ellis was dealt to the Bucks at the trading deadline. Now the starting point guard will come from among career backup Nate Robinson, Charles Jenkins and rookie Klay Thompson; Robinson started Wednesday.

The Warriors have made the playoffs once since 1994.