SAN FRANCISCO – A scan done on LeBron James' troublesome left ankle and foot showed no serious issue, but the newly crowned NBA career scoring leader sat out a second straight game Saturday night since breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's mark earlier in the week.
Still, coach Darvin Ham expects to see James back on the floor before the All-Star break. When asked whether James might need to be sidelined through the break, Ham offered, "No, I don't think he'll allow us to do that."
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General manager Rob Pelinka said earlier Saturday that nothing was seriously wrong for James, who topped former Lakers star Abdul-Jabbar during Tuesday's 133-130 home loss to Oklahoma City.
“LeBron did have some imaging on his foot injury, and we’re grateful that things came back clean and good.” Pelinka said.
The game with Golden State — missing reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry because of a left leg injury — marked James' seventh sidelined by soreness in the left ankle. He also missed one game with left foot soreness and another because of a non-COVID illness. He also sat out five games with a strained left inner thigh muscle.
“Just for him to continue to get treatment, stay off of it,” Ham said of the plan. “Obviously we made moves and one of the biggest moves is making sure we’re not putting him in a position where we’re putting him at risk of a bigger issue.”
James has what Ham called “normal wear and tear, little irritated in one area.”
The 38-year-old James has made his 19th straight All-Star team and has 38,390 career points.
“We’re just taking this time that we have to get him treated and hopefully get him back so we can make a good run and he can be in the midst of it down the stretch,” Ham said.
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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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