LeBron James will miss the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday with an illness.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said James has a chest cold. Officially, the team said he has flu-like symptoms.
James is averaging 25.4 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists and 8.7 rebounds and has helped the Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference. He played on Friday night and had 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in a win over the Dallas Mavericks. Vogel said the performance was especially impressive because James struggled with breathing throughout.
Vogel said forward Anthony Davis, who leads the Lakers with 27.1 points per game, would be a game-time decision with a gluteus maximus contusion. The team later announced Davis would miss his second straight game, after sitting out Friday’s matchup with Dallas.
Vogel also said guard Danny Green will sit out with a sore right hip. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Rajon Rondo will start in the slots vacated by James and Green.
The short-handed Lakers face a Thunder team that has won 11 of 13 games and rolled past the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
