LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will not play Wednesday on the second night of a back-to-back on the road against the Utah Jazz, he told reporters after the Lakers’ 125-111 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
James, 39, has been dealing with soreness on the outside of his left ankle and will use the night to rest it in L.A.’s final game before the All-Star break. It will be the seventh missed game for James this season.
The Lakers’ win over Detroit lifted their record to 29-26, the first time they’ve been three games over .500 since Dec. 18.
“Offensively, we’re sharing the ball,” James said after scoring 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting against the Pistons while L.A. racked up 32 assists on 43 made field goals. “Everybody’s been in a good rhythm. And then defensively, we’ve been on a string and if anything breaks down, the Defensive Player of the Year cleans it up for us. So, definitely, we’re playing some good ball.”
Anthony Davis, whom James was endorsing for Defensive Player of the Year, said winning the award isn’t as important to him as team success.
“I feel like I should have won it a couple times but didn’t, so, I mean, at this point, I’m just trying to win,” Davis said. “Continue to have a presence on the defensive end, and if that seems to be in the plans for me to win it this year, then obviously it’ll be exciting for me to have one of those under my belt.”
James’ ankle injury is not considered serious enough to threaten his availability for Sunday’s All-Star Game in Indianapolis, where James will make an NBA record 20th appearance.
“I’m just humbled and very blessed, obviously,” James said. “I don’t take it for granted, being an All-Star
Skills took center stage on Saturday night during NBA All-Star Weekend, including a one-of-a-kind showdown between WNBA 3-point contest record holder Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty and NBA all-time 3-point leader Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, a two-time NBA 3-point contest winner who shares the single-round NBA record. Curry won with the best round by any player all night long.
Saturday’s events began with the skills challenge. The current format has teams of three compete in an obstacle course, a passing competition and a shooting competition. The hometown Indiana Pacers squad of All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, Rising Stars MVP Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner delighted the crowd by becoming the third host team in as many years to win.
In the 3-point contest, defending champion Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks beat 2022 winner Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young in the finals, becoming the first player to repeat since Jason Kapono in 2007 and 2008 and joining Curry as one of just eight players ever to win multiple times.
