LeBron James injured in Lakers rout of defending champion Warriors
LOS ANGELES
LeBron James left with a groin injury but the Los Angeles Lakers regrouped for a 127-101 blowout win over two-time defending champion Golden State that snapped an 11-game losing streak on the Warriors’ home court.
“That was our most complete game of the season,” said Lakers coach Luke Walton. “We knew they were going to go on a run and a lot of the time we rely on LeBron or our veteran leaders to keep us in it.
“Without LeBron, the group as a whole did a good job of fighting back.”
James was injured halfway through the third quarter when he reached for a loose ball. He grimaced and grabbed his left groin before heading to the sidelines where he tried to stretch it out.
He was moving gingerly when he left the court for good and headed to the team’s locker room.
“Hopefully it is not a long thing I can get back on the floor as soon as possible,” said James, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Kyle Kuzma contributed 19 points, Croatian Ivica Zubac had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Rajon Rondo 15 points and 10 assists as the Lakers won on the Warriors’ home floor for the first time in six years.
They also ended a seven-game losing streak overall in the series with their first win in the California rivalry since 2016.
“We just want to continue to get better,” James said. “It is always the next man up. You have to be able to take punches and punch back and we were able to do that.”
Kevin Durant had 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Andre Iguodala came off the bench scored a season-high 23 points in the contest.
Elsewhere, James Harden scored 41 points as the Houston Rockets recorded their seventh win in their last eight games with a 113-109 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Harden has scored 35 points or more in his last five contests, which is the longest such streak since Carmelo Anthony did it over a six-game stretch in April 2013.
He also became the first player to score 40 or more points on Christmas since Durant had 44 for the Thunder eight years ago.
In New York, Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 30 points and 14 rebounds as the high-scoring Milwaukee Bucks took their frustrations out on the New York Knicks with a 109-95 win.
Brook Lopez scored 20 points in the Bucks’ victory.
In Boston, Kyrie Irving made a clutch shot to force overtime then scored six points in the extra session as the Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 121-114.
Irving finished with 40 points, hitting back-to-back three-pointers in overtime while leading Boston back from a five-point deficit.
