LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will miss Tuesday’s night game against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of left foot soreness, the Los Angeles Lakers announced.
James, 41, has dealt with discomfort in his left foot all season and is managing the injury after taking on a bigger workload in Sunday’s 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks when he had 30 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds in 39 minutes in L.A.’s first game after Luka Doncic (left hamstring) and Austin Reaves (left oblique) suffered significant injuries last week.
Tuesday is the start of a stretch of three games in four nights for L.A., with a back-to-back coming Thursday on the road against the Golden State Warriors and Friday at home against the Phoenix Suns.
The Lakers are currently No. 4 in the Western Conference with four games remaining in the regular season. They are a half game behind the Denver Nuggets, but hold the tiebreaker over Denver.
The Lakers will also be without Marcus Smart against Oklahoma City. He will miss his eighth straight game with a right ankle contusion.
The Thunder are 3-0 against the Lakers this season, including a 139-96 blowout win in Oklahoma City on Thursday.
