Already down Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Boston Celtics on Friday night without LeBron James.
The Lakers ruled James out with sciatica, the same issue that has limited him to just six of the team’s 21 games this season. He also is dealing with a left foot injury.
Doncic is in Slovenia for the birth of his second child. Lakers guard Marcus Smart, who began his career in Boston, was also ruled out because of a left lumbar muscle strain.
Los Angeles earned a 123-120 road win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday when James assisted on Rui Hachimura’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
James scored eight points in the game, the first time since 2007 that he didn’t score at least 10, ending a streak of 1,297 games in which he reached double figures. He shot 4 of 17 from the field and missed each of his five 3-point attempts.
James expressed no regrets about deciding to pass at the end rather than shoot in an attempt to win the game and extend the streak. In the end, Hachimura was the hero even over teammate Austin Reaves, who logged 44 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
“Just playing the game the right way,” James said. “You always make the right play. That’s just been my M.O. That’s how I was taught the game. I’ve done that my whole career. …
“Once they doubled (Reaves) and the ball got swung to me, I knew it was a numbers game. We had a 4-on-3 advantage, and I was just trying to put the ball on time on target.”
