The Los Angeles Lakers’ eight-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, as the defending champion Celtics held off a late comeback by the Lakers to secure a 111-101 victory at TD Garden.
However, the biggest concern for the Lakers was not the defeat, but the injury to superstar forward LeBron James.
King James suffered a groin injury while finishing a drive past Celtics forward Jaylen Brown in the fourth quarter of the contest.
The man who recently became the first player to reach 50,000 career points headed for the locker room at the next dead ball and did not return, finishing with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in 35 minutes of action.
It was a rollercoaster of a game for James who, before suffering the groin injury, was slammed by fans for what they deemed to be ‘shameless’ flopping.
In the second half, Tatum sold James on a pump fake before blowing past the 40-year-old and driving towards the basket.
He appeared to barely brush the four-time NBA champion, but LeBron reacted dramatically, whipping his head and body back before taking a knee and placing his right hand on the hardwood.
James almost immediately got back to his feet and briefly nursed his chin.
Replay showed there was minimal contact from Tatum, and fans were not impressed with James’ perceived play-acting.
“Jordan was never,” posted one fan.
“Best actor in LA: LeBron James,” wrote another.
“LeActor. LeBron shamelessly pulling out all the stops tonight trying to beat the Celtics, ” a third added.
“King of Flops,” posted a fourth.
There was no such scepticism about his groin injury, though, which comes at a bad time for the high-flying Lakers and threatens to complicate the team’s push to the playoffs.
James was asked about the extent of the injury after the game, telling reporters there ‘wasn’t much concern’.
“Not much concern,” James said. “Day-to-day. Look at it each day and see if it gets better.”
“I spun on Jaylen Brown,” James said. “I maybe extended it a little bit too much. When I landed, I felt it. It was the last play I scored on.”
“Christmas Day my first year with the Lakers is the first thing that popped to my mind,” James said. “I’ve been there before. I know what type of injury you’re dealing with. … I’m always trying to see how much mobility or if I could possibly give it a go. I came back [to the locker room] and did a couple of stretches, and I ultimately knew I would be done with the rest of the night.”
Teammate Luka Doncic, who led the Lakers with 34 points and eight rebounds, remained hopeful it was ‘nothing.’
“Hopefully it’s nothing,” Doncic said. “Obviously, he’s got to take his time. Those injuries are — I wouldn’t say the worst, but they’re tough to deal with. Just take time.”
“Obviously concerned [about James],” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said. “We just have to continue to play hard and play defense.”
James will likely be accessed over the coming days.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, it’s looking like weeks, rather than days, before James will able to return to the starting lineup.
“It is too early to project an accurate timetable for how long LeBron James could miss because of his left groin injury, sources told ESPN,” McMenamin posted on X.
“However one source said the initial thought is that it will sideline James for a matter of weeks, not a matter of days.”
The purple and gold are currently second in the Western Conference with a 40-22 record, having surged up the standings in recent weeks following the acquisition of Doncic.
But with James seemingly out for the foreseeable, they now find themselves in a dogfight with the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Houston Rockets for the West’s No. 2 seed and home-court advantage in the playoffs.
