LeBron James
Photo: nbcsports.com

A sprained ankled kept LeBron James out of action for most of the fourth quarter in an opening night loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The next game for the Lakers will be an NBA Christmas Day game versus Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite the injury, LeBron expects to play against Dallas. “I turned it [ankle] pretty good but I don’t think it’s gonna stop me from playing on Friday,” James said after the game. “Got a couple of days. You know how I am about treatment so I’ll do that around the clock and I think I should be fine by then.”

The 35-year-old superstar had 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 22 minutes of play against the Clippers. The defending champions ended up losing 109-116.