LeBron James, Anthony Davis miss 126-113 loss to Raptors

ByDave McMenamin ESPN logo
Thursday, December 8, 2022

TORONTO -- Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis did not play in Wednesday night's 126-113 loss to the Raptors.



James is dealing with left ankle soreness, according to the team, and missed his first game since sitting out more than two weeks in November with a left groin strain.




It was the seventh game of the season that James has missed; he's played in 17. James turned his ankle against the Indiana Pacers last week and then tweaked in subsequent games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Wizards during L.A.'s current six-game road trip.



Ham said he approached James -- a 20-year veteran who turns 38 this month -- earlier in the trip with the plan to rest him on the second night of the Lakers' back-to-back in Toronto.



"A lot of players that play at that elite level, a lot of times you just have to save them from themselves," Ham said during his pregame news conference.



Davis did not play after leaving Tuesday's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers with flu-like symptoms. The Lakers have said Davis' illness is not related to COVID-19.



Lakers coach Darvin Ham said after the 116-102 defeat to the Cavs that Davis had tried to play through the illness, "but he just felt too weak, just too drained -- dehydrated a little bit."



The Lakers planned to administer fluids and medication to Davis at Scotiabank Arena during Wednesday's game, according to Ham.




"He'll be here," Ham said. "Working on him around the clock."



Patrick Beverley was also out because of right knee soreness. "He's had some tough matchups and is competing his tail off," Ham said of Beverley.



Ham said that the statuses of James, Davis and Beverley are all a "day-to-day thing."



L.A. started Dennis Schroder, Lonnie Walker, Austin Reaves, Thomas Bryant and Juan Toscano-Anderson against Toronto.



Toscano-Anderson sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter when he accidentally stepped on Bryant's foot. He had to be helped off the court. Ham said Toscano-Anderson would undergo an MRI on the ankle Thursday. L.A. is also missing back-up big man Wenyen Gabriel, who is expected to be out at least another week while recovering from briefly dislocating his left shoulder against the Washington Wizards.



The Lakers have two more games remaining on the road before returning to L.A.: Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers and Sunday against the Detroit Pistons.



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