Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has been ruled out for Friday night’s home matchup against the Indiana Pacers after sustaining a left elbow contusion.
The injury occurred during Thursday evening’s 120-113 defeat on the road against the Denver Nuggets, when James took a hard fall to the floor while attacking the rim in the fourth quarter.
The veteran forward managed to check back into the game momentarily before exiting once more in the closing moments.
Following Thursday’s defeat, James told reporters, “Pretty sore right now … day-to-day, we’ll see what happens.”
The injury adds to James’ ongoing management of arthritis in his left foot.
The 41-year-old contributed 16 points on 7-of-11 field goal attempts in the loss to Denver. During that contest, James made NBA history by recording his 15,842nd career field goal, surpassing basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous record by five makes.
The Lakers will also be without center Deandre Ayton, who suffered a left knee injury during the opening quarter of Thursday’s game and has been ruled out as well.
