LeBron James dealing with ankle, wrist issues
LeBron James watched from the sidelines as the Cleveland Cavaliers' season-high 12-game winning streak came to an end Friday night.
James asked out of Friday's loss to the Indiana Pacers with 12.4 seconds remaining due to a right ankle issue he's been dealing with the last two weeks. The superstar originally hurt the ankle Jan. 21, according to Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and has been hobbled by it since.
In addition, James also tweaked his right wrist after getting fouled by Pacers center Roy Hibbert in the waning moments of the third quarter. Hibbert was assessed a flagrant foul on the play.
It's not the first time James has been bothered by a wrist injury this season, either. He was forced to miss a game in late January after spraining his wrist on a block attempt against the Detroit Pistons.
"It's the same thing," James said. "I already know and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm going to start my treatment (Friday) and just try to stay on it so hopefully I can go on Sunday,"
The lingering injuries are slightly worrisome for a Cavaliers team that has lost eight times in 10 tries without James and played at a .690 clip with him in the lineup.
James finished Friday's contest with 25 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
If James is unable to go Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers, it would mark the 11th game he's missed this season. He had never missed more than seven games in his previous 11 seasons.
The wrist issue appears to be the greatest concern for the NBA's second-leading scorer (26.1 points per game).
"It's been better," James said. "It's scary for me sometimes, you know, I've broke my wrist before on those type of plays. I'm thankful that I could just get up, again, and hopefully I'll continue to do that."
Despite his injuries, James has been enjoying his best stretch of the season. Over his last 13 games - after missing eight consecutive due to knee and back strains - James is averaging 28.1 points, 6.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 steals and shooting 50 percent from the field.