LeBron James finally returned from his adductor injury, putting in an all-around effort to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-94 on Friday.
James missed five straight games with an adductor strain, missing nearly two weeks of action. But he felt good enough to give it a go against the Spurs and ended up clocking over 33 minutes on Friday. James scored 21 points in his return, shooting 47.1% from the field and going 1-for-4 from downtown (25%). He also added eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block — with his production outweighing the lost points caused by the season-high nine turnovers he committed.
After the game, James provided an update on his health, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Feel pretty good. I’ve been nonstop around the clock for the last couple of weeks to get back on the floor, and I feel like tonight was the night I can go out there and me myself.”
In a further sign James’ adductor issue is now a thing of the past, the four-time NBA champion said he could appear in the back-to-back contest with San Antonio the following day:
“Yeah, there’s a strong possibility I play tomorrow. I just sat out for two weeks. I’m good.”
James looked in great shape on Friday, cutting, dunking and putting in the effort on the defensive end against the Spurs. And his return didn’t negatively impact Anthony Davis, who’s been in extraordinary form since the 37-year-old went down with the adductor injury.
Davis ended up with 25 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and three blocks on Friday, doing it all for the Lakers once again.
James discusses his turnovers in win over Spurs
James’ turnovers were the only real indicator of the 18-time All-Star’s recent five-game absence. He turner the ball over at a nearly three times higher rate than his season average (3.9), which already ranks second in the NBA behind Joel Embiid (4.4 turnovers per night).
But James believes he will do a better job at protecting the ball as the games go on:
“Well, for me personally, just like my rhythm, my timing was a little off on a few of my passes,” he said on Friday. “That was the product, the turnovers — I had six in the first half, I was able to cut it in half in the second half. But I’d be a lot better. Obviously, as the games go on, I can get my rhythm back, but I feel pretty good to get out there on the court with my guys and, you know, make some plays to help them win the game.”
Regardless of the turnovers, it is good to see that James is healthy as the Lakers look to start piling up some wins.
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