Lakers sweat on LeBron injury

LA's rout of Warriors overshadowed by groin problem for King James

OAKLAND, California - LeBron James prides himself in his durability, being available night after night, game after grueling game.

That's why the Los Angeles Lakers star is so mad he got hurt.

The Lakers lost LeBron in the third quarter to a strained left groin then went out and beat the two-time defending champion without him on Tuesday night, getting King James' 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists before the injury in a surprising 127-101 rout of the Golden State Warriors.

"I take a lot of pride in it," James said of always playing. "That's why it (angered me) not to be able to go back into the game. It's more than anything being available to my teammates, being available to my coaching staff. That's something I take more personal than anything. Hopefully it's not a long thing."

James grabbed at his left groin area with 7:51 left in the third after slipping under the Warriors' basket while scrambling for a loose ball. He tried to stretch it out, awkwardly walked toward the Lakers bench trying to loosen up before leaving on his own for the locker room.

"I wasn't able to go back into the game, obviously. I'll get an MRI tomorrow and see what's up," James said. "With me with injuries, I'm never too concerned about them. I was able to walk off on my own power. I felt a pop, see if I could stretch it a few times, see if it would relieve but it didn't. I did a couple exercises to see if I could continue to go but I didn't feel like it would benefit my team or me. So I came back and got a jump start on the rehab."

Coach Luke Walton is preparing to be without James on Thursday night in Sacramento.

James has played in 156 straight games overall and 116 in the regular season. And he's not about to guess whether he will have to miss time.

Stephen Curry made consecutive 3s shortly after James exited, and the Warriors got within 78-76 at the 2:48 mark of the third, but Kyle Kuzma and the persistent Lakers stayed at it every possession. Curry wound up with 15 points. However, the home fans had seen enough well before the final buzzer and headed for the exits.

"They played like they had nothing to lose. They played like they had a free swing," Curry said. "Everybody who touched the ball was aggressive. They just had a different look in their eye and we weren't able to match that. They went out and won the game, that's basically it."

Kuzma contributed 19 points with a pretty baseline 3 late, Ivica Zubac had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Rajon Rondo 15 points and 10 assists off the bench.

The Lakers snapped an 11-game losing streak on the Warriors' home floor since a 118-115 overtime win on Dec 22, 2012. LA also ended a seven-game skid overall in the rivalry.

James made it look easy early on shooting over Jonas Jerebko and Kevon Looney to help LA to a 65-50 at the halftime break.

It was James' second straight Christmas Day game at Oracle Arena after playing here with the Cavaliers last year and losing 99-92.

McGee must wait

Lakers center JaVale McGee was still sick with a respiratory infection and missed his fifth straight game, didn't travel and missed his scheduled moment to receive his championship ring. That will now happen on Feb 2 when the Lakers return to Oracle Arena.

McGee was one of three big men who rotated in Steve Kerr's rotation on the way to a repeat title.

"I'm happy for JaVale. He's getting more of a chance to play with the Lakers than he did with us," Kerr said. "We had a lot of centers play a really important role for us the last couple of years. He was fantastic and we loved having him here. Wish he was here and that we could give him his ring today, but we'll do it next time. Very happy for him and his success this year."

Associated Press