Los Angeles (AFP) – Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James and star forward Anthony Davis were ruled out by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, hours before they visit the rival Boston Celtics.
The game will be the first this season in which the Lakers, winners of the In-Season Tournament final in December, are without both James and Davis.
It also will be the third game in four nights for the struggling Lakers, who lost Monday at Houston and again Tuesday in Atlanta and slid to 24-25, ninth in the Western Conference.
James, a four-time NBA champion, is sidelined with a sore left ankle.
The 39-year-old forward is in his 21st NBA campaign.
Davis is out with left hip spasms and an Achilles tendon injury.
He also missed Tuesday’s loss in Atlanta for the same issues.
Both were downgraded from questionable about five hours before tip off against the Celtics, who own the NBA’s best record at 37-11.
The Lakers and Celtics, two of the NBA’s oldest clubs, share the league record with 17 triumphs each in the NBA Finals.
