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[Saba Sports News] The Los Angeles Lakers’ hot streak may be cooling off at the worst possible time.
On Saturday night, the Lakers fell 111-101 to the rival Boston Celtics, snapping their eight-game winning streak. To make matters worse, they also lost LeBron James to an injury in the fourth quarter.
With just over seven minutes left, James executed a double-pivot move on Jaylen Brown in the post and finished the basket but was visibly limping as he ran back up the floor.
Moments later, after a Celtics score, the Lakers called a timeout, during which James exited the game and was seen stretching out his groin on the sideline.
Shortly after, the Lakers announced that James had suffered a groin strain and would not return. He finished the night with 22 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists in 35 minutes.
A groin strain is typically a multi-week injury, and given James’ heavy workload at age 40—having played in 58 of the Lakers’ 61 games this season at nearly 35 minutes per night—it raises concerns about how long he might be out. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported postgame that the “initial thought” is that James will miss weeks rather than days.
The Lakers had surged up to second in the Western Conference following the acquisition of Luka Doncic, but Saturday’s loss to the Celtics—and James’ latest setback—could be a significant blow to their momentum.