LeBron James is convinced that he’ll ‘be all right’ after exiting game with ankle injury

In the final minutes of the Lakers‘ disappointing 130-120 loss to the Kings on Wednesday, LeBron James limped off the court and into the locker room after hurting his ankle. The 39-year-old had dropped 31 points and handed out 13 assists in 36 minutes of play, but his powerful exhibition went to waste as his team was no match for Sacramento‘s dominance.

Once the game was over, the athlete was clear that the injury wasn’t too serious. “I’ll be all right,” the power forward shared. “It’s just my ankle. It’s just what I’ve been dealing with before the [All-Star] break, after the break. I’m just managing it the best way I can.”

The superstar revealed that his pain didn’t come from an specific play during the contest, but that he’s been carrying some discomfort for some weeks now. “I played the whole third, sat a little bit to start the fourth, and when I got back in, it kind of just — whatever,” he said. “It’s just something I’ve been dealing with.”

Report: LeBron James’ ankle pain being caused by ‘wear and tear’ https://t.co/9WCp8vFYkf

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A source who has been close to James’ conditioning, told the press that his ankle pain is mostly due to “wear and tear”, as the all-time NBA scoring leader is currently the oldest athlete in the league.

“Some games are better than others,” said LeBron, who is competing in his 21st campaign. “I didn’t feel it at all against OKC [on Monday]. And I didn’t feel it at all until the fourth quarter tonight. So, each game, each day is different.”

Before the start of the match against Sacramento, the superstar was listed as questionable due to his left ankle. Now the question remains if he’ll be able to compete this Friday when the purple and gold host the Milwaukee Bucks.

His co-star Anthony Davis assured that if James must miss time, the Los Angeles squad has enough ingredients in the mix to continue without him. LeBron recognized the Kings’ greatness and feels they won fairly.

“Malik Monk came in, made a big impact. Davion Mitchell made a big impact,” the veteran said postgame. “And they changed the game. It was a complete 180. That was the game right there from one quarter to the next.”

Sacramento have won all three games against the Lakers this campaign, although they still have one more game next week

Whatever happens in next week’s matchup between Kings and Lakers, the team from Northern California has already won the season series as they’ve beat them three times already. The purple and gold entered the clash one and a half game behind their rivals, who are set in the Western Conference’s seventh spot.

This defeat, which was the second in Los Angeles’ last three contests, dropped them to the No. 10 place in the West. “It sucks,” shared Davis, after scoring a low 14 points on 5-for-13 shooting, but compensated with 11 rebounds. “Especially in a must-win game that we needed.”

On the other side, De’Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 44 points on 19-for-32 shooting, while co-star Domantas Sabonis posted 16 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists. Also, Monk and Mitchell combined for 38 points off the bench.

“Some of the things we were in defensively allowed them — allowed De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk — to get whatever they want, live in the paint,” the Lakers center said. “And if I go help, then Sabonis is wide open. So, they did a good job manipulating what we were doing.”