Sunday night did not go according to plan for the Lakers, who saw the Blazers win in Boston and then proceeded to lose to the Raptors in L.A. to slide to a tie for the 7-seed in the West. Given that the Lakers started the night with both of their superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it was a disappointing loss in a game most would have penciled them in for a win in.
Making matters worse than the 121-114 final score was that LeBron did not finish the game, leaving the floor in the mid-fourth quarter and quietly exiting to the locker room after posting 19 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in 28 minutes. In the final minute of the game, the team announced that James’ night was done due to a sore right ankle, the same one that he sprained back in March that caused him to miss 20 games.
LeBron James is OUT with a sore right ankle, per Lakers
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) May 3, 2021
The Lakers play a back-to-back tomorrow with the Nuggets coming into L.A. for a very difficult game, and it seems like James missing the end of a game that L.A. got close enough to feel like they could make a real push to win doesn’t bode well for his status on Monday. They will surely monitor how he’s feeling come Monday morning, but for a Laker team needing wins to avoid a play-in scenario, seeing James leave early and not return with an apparent aggravation of his ankle injury is the last thing they wanted to see.
UPDATE: Frank Vogel confirmed the team will wait to see how he’s feeling tomorrow to determine his status for the Denver game, as the Lakers and James appeared to be understandably cautious with his ankle when he felt an issue.
Frank Vogel on LeBron James: “He was battling some soreness. We decided not to bring him back. We’ll see how he’s feeling tomorrow.” LAL plays Denver on Monday
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 3, 2021
