Los Angeles Lakers forward Wenyen Gabriel suffered an ankle sprain in the 128-110 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. Gabriel’s status ahead of Thursday’s game with the Utah Jazz is “day-to-day.”
The 25-year-old forward suffered the injury with just under four minutes left in the game. Having checked in seconds before, Gabriel defended Spencer Dinwiddie after a switch on a pick-and-roll. As the Kentucky alum backstepped when Dinwiddie tried to run past him and cut to the rim, Avery Bradley came to his help in the paint.
But Gabriel didn’t see Bradley closing out behind his back as he was following Dinwiddie and appeared to step on his teammate’s foot, twisting his ankle. He then limped off the floor and went to the locker room for treatment.
The Lakers faced the Mavericks without Anthony Davis and LeBron James, who rolled his ankle last week in the loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
L.A. has seven games left before the end of the regular season and needs to get as many wins as possible during the final stretch to get back in the Western Conference’s top-10 and secure a spot in the Play-In Tournament.
Also, they need to end the season with a better record than the New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs, who are currently ahead in the standings, as they own tiebreakers over the Lakers.
James could miss Lakers’ clash with Jazz; Davis might return this week
Reports claim ankle soreness might rule James out of the upcoming clash with the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
However, Davis could make his comeback this week after missing over a month due to a foot injury, possibly against the Pelicans on Friday or in a home clash with the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. The Lakers lost 13 of the 17 games they have played in Davis’ absence.
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