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Report: LeBron James expected to miss at least 1 week with abdominal strain

The Lakers' star forward missed his third game of the season after sitting out two straight games in late October.

LeBron James did not suit up against the Thunder on Thursday night and is expected to miss more time.

LeBron James watched from the sidelines as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their three game winning streak Thursday night in a 107-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Per the team, James did not play against OKC as he is dealing with an abdominal strain.

James is expected to be sidelined for at least one week, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Oklahoma City rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat Los Angeles for the second time this season, both times without James who missed the Oct. 27 game against the Thunder with a sore right ankle.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and hit a deep dagger to fuel OKC’s comeback win.

James, who turns 37 next month, missed a game for the third time already this season, but Lakers coach Frank Vogel didn’t confirm reports that the four-time league MVP will be out for at least a week.

“Any time LeBron’s out and he’s going to miss some time, there’s obviously concern,” Vogel said. “Hopefully this is something that’s minimal, and hopefully he’ll be back soon.”

James has played in the last three games, a string that came after he missed back-to-back games (Oct. 26-27) because of a sore right ankle. He averaged 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game while shooting 46.8% overall and 15% on 3-pointers. Overall, he is averaging 24.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 7.0 apg this season.

Next, the Lakers head to Portland for a game against the Trail Blazers on Saturday (10:30 ET, NBA TV).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

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