LeBron James out as Los Angeles Lakers fall to Utah Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY -- LeBron James sat out the Los Angeles Lakers' 132-125 loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday because of a left ankle injury.
James, 39, turned the ankle in the first half of the Lakers' 127-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. He stayed in the contest after the injury but logged just 24 minutes and scored a season-low 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting.
It was James' fourth missed game this season.
Anthony Davis recorded his second-career triple-double with 15 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists, however he shot 5-for-21 from the field and committed a team-high six turnovers.
"Everyone did their job except me," Davis said. "I didn't do my job. Obviously Bron was out and everyone has to step up and those guys did. Except myself. So this one's on me."
Rui Hachimura, cleared to return after missing the past five games with a left calf strain, played in James' place, finishing with 17 points and three rebounds. His playing time was limited to 19 minutes because of a minutes restriction.
The teams with similar overall records are now squarely headed in opposite directions. Los Angeles (19-21) is 2-6 in its past eight games, while Utah (21-20) is 8-1 in its past nine. The Jazz had won their past four games by an average of 18 points, including Friday's 145-113 drubbing of the Toronto Raptors.
James was the only key contributor missing from Saturday's rotation. D'Angelo Russell (right knee contusion) and Cam Reddish (left knee soreness), both listed as questionable, played for the Lakers, with the former finishing with 39 points.
Russell, starting for the first time alongside Austin Reaves in the backcourt since Nov. 8, lobbied for the effectiveness of the duo -- alluding to their playoff success last spring.
"We got a lot of credibility in the short stint that we have together," Russell said. "So you put us out there, it works."
Reddish played 11 minutes and went 0-for-1 from the field with one rebound. For the second straight game, he was pulled at halftime because of soreness in his left knee and did not return.
"We'll get him looked at, he's actually being looked at now and have a definitive plan by Monday going forward with what's going on with him," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of Reddish.
The loss dropped L.A.'s record through 40 games identical to where it was at this point last season.
Davis acknowledged his team's struggles, but pointed to the upcoming schedule -- six straight games in L.A. over the next two weeks against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, LA Clippers and Chicago Bulls -- as a crucial time to get right.
"We're not in a bad spot," Davis said. "It could be worse. Just our injuries just piled up over and over. As soon as we think we get a couple guys back, guys go down. So, that's the toughest thing but we still have enough to win basketball games. Even though Bron doesn't play, we have enough to win. But we just got to keep going -- 40 games, 42 left. We got to make a push. These next five or six games at home are going to be a big stretch of games for us."
