LeBron James will miss his third straight game with a knee injury, the Lakers star being downgraded to “out” for Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks after being listed as questionable ahead of the prior two games.
The team said James is suffering from soreness and swelling in his left knee.
James scored 33 points against the Nets on Tuesday in Brooklyn before waking up with pain in his knee the next morning. The Lakers then downgraded him, and after a brief on-court workout, ruled him out at Philadelphia on Thursday. He didn’t play against Charlotte on Friday.
Asked before Friday’s game if he was concerned that James’ injury was more serious than a day-to-day problem, coach Frank Vogel said “not right now.”
“There’s some swelling in there that they want to just get on top of,” Vogel said. “And that’s all it is.”
James could get further testing on the knee once the team returns to Los Angeles following Sunday’s game.
The injury is the latest in a series of setbacks…