Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics both entered Saturday’s highly expected matchup in second place at their respective conferences.
Lakers have risen in the weeks since the team acquired Luka Doncic. But Boston surpassed Los Angeles on Saturday and ultimately celebrated a victory of 111-101. An injury forced LeBron James to leave the game in the fourth quarter.
While James did not give a timetable for his return to court, he tried to ease the concerns of the severity of the injury.
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LeBron James from Los Angeles Lakers during the match against Celtics on March 8, 2025 at TD Garden in Boston. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
“Not much concern,” James said. “Obviously, I’m the daily. I want to look at it every day and see if it gets better and take the right measures to see what I need to move on.”
ESPN reported that a strained groin could sideline James for up to two weeks.
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James did not return to court after a timeout with 6:44 minutes left after he contested a set up by Jaylen Brown. The 21st time NBA All-Star was seen gently to the hug and then hardly moved before heading to the closet with teachers.
James ended the game with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.
The Los Angeles Lakers tip LeBron James defends the ball from Celtics -Guard Payton Pritchard, Saturday 8 March 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
He said his first thoughts went to his first season in Los Angeles in 2018 when he suffered a groin injury during a Christmas day game against the Golden State Warriors. He missed the next 17 games and the injury bothered him for most of the rest of the season.
“I’ve been there before and I know what type of damage we are dealing with,” James noted. He seems to be sure his latest injury is not as serious as 2018.
LeBron James from Lakers during the game against San Antonio Spurs on January 13, 2025 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
He also said he was thinking of former teammate Anthony Davis, who sustained his current groin injury in his first game with Dallas Mavericks after his trade for Doncic.
“It’s crazy. But I thought about ad, ”James said.
Doncic just wants James to cause the damage it the rest needs. “Obviously, he has to take his time,” Doncic said. “These injuries I wouldn’t say they’re worse, but they’re hard to tackle.”
Lakers ‘loss to Celtics ended Los Angeles’ eight-game victory. The defeat also fell short to third place in the Western Conference position. But La moved back to second place after Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets Sunday afternoon.
