The Los Angeles Lakers finally busted out of their three-game losing slump on Thursday night. They secured a much-needed road win against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, 119-103.
This was thanks in large part to another strong performance from LeBron James. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer went off against a Steph Curry-less Warriors side. James finished with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-17 overall and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
He flirted with a triple-double again, registering eight rebounds and 11 assists, to go along with two steals and a block in 32 minutes of play.
James, however, suffered a hand injury in the third quarter after a chase-down block on Warriors guard Pat Spencer.
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
James grabbed his hand after swatting away Spencer’s shot off the backboard. Lakers head coach JJ Redick called a timeout, which allowed James to head over to the bench. The 41-year-old was seen icing his finger moments later.
The good news is that James was able to check back into the game. He spent some time on the bench, but he looked fine once he was back on the court.
Redick addressed James’ injury after the game. While the Lakers coach did not provide full details of the issue, Redick said he is “hopeful” that James will play on Friday.
The Lakers play twice in two nights. They host the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena on Friday in what will be their second-to-last game of the regular season.
James himself spoke out about the injury after the win.
"It'll be fine,” he said. “I mean it's not fine, but I'm good."
Barring any unforeseen setbacks, James should be back in the mix Friday night against Phoenix.
The Lakers improved to 51-29 after Thursday’s win over the Warriors. They are now just one game behind the Denver Nuggets for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
