Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James Coach Frank Vogel told reporters that his team will miss Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets due to a left ankle injury.
Fogel said James would have “a day in a day” to move forward after Friday’s 114-111 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He plays Los Angeles next Tuesday in Phoenix.
“I’ve had pain in my ankle since that night,” Vogel said. “It’s basically like a straight game with an early start, and we won’t be with him today.”
Anthony Davis He will play his second game in a row since returning to the squad on Friday after more than six weeks with a right-mid-foot sprain, Vogel said.
Coming into Sunday, James has missed three of the Lakers’ past five games, a period in which Los Angeles went 0-5 to slip out of play in the West entering the final week of the regular season.
After Friday’s loss, James said he was unsure if he would play against the Nuggets due to injury.
“Hopefully she will react the right way for me in the morning when I wake up and not have setbacks,” James said.
The No. 10 Lakers track the San Antonio Spurs with a game before five games remaining. But thanks to Tottenham retaining the tie-breaker, Los Angeles will have to play two games against San Antonio before the end of the season to steal their last playing place. The Lakers will have to do this with a schedule that includes two games against Denver, one against Phoenix, one against Golden State and one against Oklahoma City.
“No one feels sorry for us,” Fogel said Sunday. “We don’t feel sorry for ourselves.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.
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