LOS ANGELES — Lakers star LeBron James will not be available for Saturday afternoon’s home game against the Indiana Pacers because of left ankle soreness, the team announced in the morning.
Fellow star Luka Doncic (strained left calf), whom the Lakers acquired last weekend from the Dallas Mavericks, also wasn’t available on Saturday. The expectation is that Doncic will make his Lakers debut on Monday when they lost the Utah Jazz.
Austin Reaves (bruised left elbow) and Mark Williams, the latter of whom the Lakers acquired in a deal with the Charlotte Hornets, are listed as questionable as of Saturday morning.
Saturday will be James’ fourth missed game of the season.
He’s averaging 24.5 points (51.6% shooting, 39.1% on 3-pointers), nine assists and 7.8 rebounds in his 22nd NBA season.
James scored a season-high 42 points in Thursday’s home win over the Golden State Warriors, becoming only the second player 40 or older in NBA history to have a 40-point performance along with Michael Jordan.
More to come in this story.