LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James will sit out the Los Angeles Lakers ‘ game against Oklahoma City on Tuesday night to rest his injured left foot.
The Pacific Division champion Lakers are already without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, who are both sidelined for at least the rest of the regular season with significant injuries. Doncic, Reaves and James are averaging a combined 77.6 points per game this season, or 66.5% of the Lakers’ typical nightly scoring output.
The 41-year-old James has been dealing with left foot arthritis and discomfort for much of the regular season, and he has occasionally sat out games to rest. The visit from the Thunder will be the 22nd game he has missed in his unprecedented 23rd NBA season.
The Lakers’ injury woes in the past week have badly damaged their hopes of being a championship contender in Doncic’s first full season with the club.
Both Doncic, the NBA’s scoring leader, and Reaves were injured during the Lakers’ blowout loss to the Thunder last week. Doncic incurred a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring, and Reaves injured his oblique muscles.
The Lakers have indicated only that both Doncic and Reaves will miss the rest of this week, but their injuries typically take longer than that to heal in most athletes.
In his first game after the new injuries for Doncic and Reaves last Sunday, James had 30 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds, but the Lakers lost 134-128 to the struggling Dallas Mavericks.
James is averaging 20.8 points, 7.1 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game this season. He has knocked over another set of NBA records this season, most recently surpassing Robert Parish’s record for career games played.
The Lakers’ visit from the defending champion Thunder is the first of three games in four days. Los Angeles plays at Golden State on Thursday and hosts Phoenix on Friday.
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