Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis will miss Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, the first on back-to-back nights in New York, the team announced Sunday.
James will rest his aching left ankle while Davis will take the night off because of a right foot stress injury.
The Lakers opened a five-game trip with a 125-121 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday night following a controversial no-call on James’ last-second drive for a layup. The score was tied at 105-105 when James got the ball with 4.1 seconds left and drove to the basket, missing a layup. James had made five of six free throws to that point in the game.
Officials after the game, the NBA and the referees’ union admitted Celtics forward Jayson Tatum made contact with James’ forearm on the left-handed layup.
“Like everyone else, referees make mistakes,” the union wrote on Twitter. “We made one at the end of last night’s game and that is gut-wrenching for us. This play will weigh heavily and cause sleepless nights as we strive to be the best referees we can be.”
James, who is 117 points from surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, and Davis voiced their criticism after the loss.
“I watch games every single day. And I don’t see it happening to nobody else. It’s just weird,” said James, who finished with 41 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, of the missed call.
Said Davis, “We got cheated. … Bron gets smacked across the arm” and the officials don’t call a foul. “It’s unacceptable, to be honest. The refs were bad. They were bad tonight.”
Austin Rivers (left hamstring) will miss his 13th consecutive game Monday after the Lakers listed him as out on the injury report. Lonnie Walker IV (left knee tendinitis) is listed as probable.
