The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 124-116 on Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to seven games. Luka Doncic poured in 40 points, along with 10 assists and nine rebounds. LeBron James shot 13-of-14 from the field for 30 points, including a nasty dunk. It’s a good night in Lakers Nation, so long as James’ elbow is OK.
With 5:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. committed a hard foul by hooking James’ elbow as he went up for a lay-in. James immediately grabbed his elbow and later shook out his arm. After the game, James addressed it with ESPN’s Lisa Salters on the court.
“I’m gonna throw some ice on it as soon as I get to the locker room,” James said. Salters joked that James “was trying to run off to get back to the locker room.” James laughed and said, “We’ve got a back-to-back. I’m 41. I need to prepare. But I’ll take care of myself and hopefully be ready tomorrow night.”
The Lakers travel to Miami to play the 38-31 Heat on Thursday.
On March 5, James hurt his left elbow late in the fourth quarter of a 120-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He scored an awkward layup, but then fell and rolled around the ground in pain. A hot mic caught him saying, “Yeah, my elbow.” He grimaced and uttered an expletive when someone tried to help him up.
The official diagnosis was a left elbow contusion and left foot arthritis, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, which sidelined him for three games.
While the Lakers have become Doncic’s team, they need James if they want to have any hope of making a deep playoff push. The Lakers sit at 44-25 and are the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
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