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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James is sitting out of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night due to flu-like symptoms.
The Lakers announced three hours before tipoff that James would miss his 11th game of the season. L.A. has gone 6-4 without the top scorer in NBA history in its lineup.
In the previous game James missed, at Milwaukee on March 26, the Lakers stormed back from 19 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Bucks in double overtime.
“Just a next man up mentality,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said during Sunday’s pregame remarks when asked about filling in for the 21-year veteran. “Obviously, that’s a lot of work that’s left out of the lineup. But at the end of the day, we just got to be ready to manage it, and different guys have to be ready to step up.”
James reported to Crypto.com Arena on Sunday afternoon to begin his pregame preparation for the Wolves and decided to go back home because of a stomach virus, Ham said.
“He came to start his process today, and I think he left early,” Ham said. “He just wasn’t feeling well.”
James had 24 points and 12 assists on Saturday while the Lakers beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 116-97 for their ninth victory in 10 games. The win finally moved the Lakers into eighth place in the Western Conference standings for the first time since late December, even though L.A. is on a 26-12 surge since midseason.
Sunday’s matchup is important for the Timberwolves, as well; a win would push them ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Anthony Davis, who was listed as probable with a knee injury, is cleared to play Sunday night. Spencer Dinwiddie will join the starting lineup in James’ place.
L.A. has another crucial contest on Tuesday, when it hosts the Golden State Warriors, who are currently No. 10 in the West.
Ham was unsure of James’ availability for the Warriors game.
“We’ll see how he wakes up tomorrow,” the coach said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Source: www.espn.com