The Los Angeles Lakers ruled LeBron James out ahead of Monday’s game against the Denver Nuggets due to left ankle soreness.
James was originally listed as probable on Monday morning before being downgraded to questionable and then out later on in the day.
“You know with LeBron, it’s just a daily thing, in terms of how he’s feeling,” coach Darvin Ham said before the game. “He listens to his body. Very responsible in that regard. At the end of the day, we’ve been playing well, obviously. Again, we don’t want to subject our guys to something that a little rest can help in the short term, or force the issue where it turns into a long-term issue. So him sitting out is totally fine.”
The news came shortly after James was named Western Conference player of the week after averaging 35 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists in his previous three games. The 18-time All-Star has won the weekly award 66 times in his career, including on five occasions with the Lakers.
James is just 35 points away from joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only members of the NBA’s 38,000-point club.
The Lakers have also been on a roll of late, winning a season-best five games in a row heading into the matchup against Denver. They climbed to just a game out of 10th place with a 19-21 record.
The Lakers lost Patrick Beverley to a right hip injury during the game.
Denver, meanwhile, entered Monday’s game atop the Western Conference having won eight of its previous 10 games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com