The Los Angeles Lakers host the Indiana Pacers at Crypto.com Arena tonight, looking to return to the win column following a 133-120 loss to the Denver Nuggets. However, their path to victory became significantly steeper as LeBron James has been ruled out for the contest.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer suffered a left elbow contusion during the loss in Denver. According to the team’s latest official injury report, the Lakers have sidelined him for tonight’s matchup.
The injury occurred with nearly four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when James fell awkwardly after scoring a layup through contact from Nikola Jokic—a play that went unwhistled. James remained on the floor as play continued before eventually heading to the bench, where the medical staff applied ice and a compression sleeve to his left arm.
During the post-game press conference, a visibly frustrated James lashed out at the officiating for failing to call a foul on the play. “It’s the same s—… ‘Marginal’. It’s the same s—. That’s all they keep saying is ‘marginal’. I’m so f— tired of that word. It doesn’t make no sense,” James said.
While James’ injury does not appear to be long-term, the Lakers are also dealing with a setback to Deandre Ayton. The big man exited Thursday’s game in the opening minutes with a knee injury and was unable to return to action.
LeBron James still making NBA history
LeBron James once again etched his name into the NBA record books on Thursday night at Ball Arena. Despite finishing the night with a left elbow injury, James turned in a strong performance, recording 16 points, five rebounds, and eight assists.
The most significant moment of the evening came in the first quarter when he officially surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goals made in NBA regular-season history.
By sinking a 12-foot turnaround jumper over Zeke Nnaji with 12 seconds left in the period, James reached 15,838 career field goals, moving past Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing mark of 15,837.
“At the end of the day, just being linked—and my name being mentioned—with some of the greatest to ever play this game has always been humbling and pretty cool,” James told reporters after the Lakers’ loss.
“I grew up watching, reading, and analyzing a lot of the greats. If I was ever able to be a part of the NBA, I wanted to put myself in a position where I could be named with some of the greats by doing something like them. So, that’s pretty cool,” he concluded.