Lakers’ LeBron James loses to Clippers due to thigh injury

Los Angeles – Lakers star LeBron James He left off Wednesday’s 114-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the middle of the fourth quarter where he said it was a thigh injury and he didn’t return.

Team doctors will evaluate James on Thursday and perform an x-ray on his thigh to determine the extent of the injury.

James limped off the field with 5 minutes, 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter and was gripping the groin area. The team said he was experiencing pain in his left leg.

“I didn’t do anything weird in the play,” James said of the sequence when he seemed to be adjusting something while posting the clippers. Paul George. “Only when I landed did I feel a bit of a cramp or pressure in my thigh. So immediately I had to get out after that for the next play when I went to the free throw line.”

James, 37, suffered a left thigh tear during the 2018-19 season – his first in Los Angeles – that left him missing 17 games in a row from late December to late January.

“It’s not that bad,” James said, comparing his current unease with what he went through four years ago.

James has not ruled out playing in Los Angeles’ upcoming game on Friday against the Sacramento Kings.

“I’ll go around [the clock] The treatment is for 24 hours, and if things are fine on Friday, I will be on the list.”

The injury marred a strong performance from James, who scored 30 points in 12-22 shots, eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 32 minutes.

Lakers coach Darvin Hamm said his message to James after the game was to “do what you want to do, just take care of your body.” But losing James – captain in minutes, points and assists – for any length of time would be a huge challenge for the team at 2-9 after their fourth straight loss.

“I mean, it’s just a huge ordeal,” Hamm said. “[James] He was trying his heart just to be there for us and play at a high level. I thought it was going really well tonight. But it’s just the NBA season thing, man. You have to be prepared for a little bit of everything. We’ll see as soon as he’s evaluated and we’ll be ready to move on.”

Hamm said he didn’t want anyone in the Lakers to feel the need to be “champion” if James missed a game, but Anthony Davis He said he would feel compelled to take on more.

said Davis, who had 21 points and nine rebounds against the Clippers. “It’s my job anyway. But it increases when someone like LeBron goes out with everything he can do on the floor.”

James seemed relatively calm about the injury, saying, “I stay balanced no matter what,” but there was a questioning line he raised during his post-match press conference: free throws.

It was a 2-for-4 off Wednesday streak, the fifth time this season that he’s tried four free throws or fewer.

“I also like the whistle to go off when I get hit,” James said. “I looked at a lot of guys tonight making a lot of jump shots going 9, 13 times to the free throw line.

“I learned how to flop or something. Seriously. I want to learn how to do it. Pull my head back or do something to get to the free throw line because ‘I missed it'” [he hears as an explanation from the referees] getting more frequent. It’s three straight games of I Missed.