“LBJ”, who was returning following four weeks of absence, explained in the post-match conference that he tore a tendon. However, he chose not to have the surgery, following the advice of the “LeBron James of the feet”.
At the age of 38, James scored 19 points (8 rebounds) once morest Chicago, for only his second game off the bench, despite a career spanning nearly 20 years.
Seven games from the end of the regular season, the Lakers are in 9th place in the West, synonymous with a play-off dam, in a Conference where two victories separate the 7th from the 12th.
In the absence of their master to play, the Lakers have achieved a series of 8 wins for 5 losses and the directly qualifying places are still within their reach.
James’ status was reassessed from ‘forfeited’ to ‘uncertain’ on Saturday night and he finally decided to line up following testing his footing in the warm-up.
Now, “it’s day to day,” the star said. “The most important thing for me is Monday morning. When I wake up tomorrow and get out of bed, we’ll see what happens.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham hailed the return of his leader, who last month became the leading scorer in NBA history.
LeBron James has missed 27 games in total this season due to various physical glitches, the most missed games in a season since joining the league in 2003.
On the ground, however, he still displays dazzling form despite his age, averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 kills.
