LeBron James missed his third straight game on Sunday and returned to Los Angeles because of “general swelling” in his left knee. Jacob Kupferman/Associated Press
ATLANTA — LeBron James has continued swelling in his left knee and was not with the Los Angeles Lakers for Sunday’s game at the Atlanta Hawks.
James missed his third straight game. He left the team early to return to Los Angeles for treatment.
Lakers Coach Frank Vogel said an MRI on James’ knee revealed “general swelling.”
“As the long as the swelling is there he’s going to be out,” Vogel said.
Vogel said James could return for Wednesday night’s home game against Portland if the swelling calms down.
Vogel described his long-running challenge to navigate injuries to James, Davis and others “the ever-changing environment that is our season.”
SUNDAY’S GAMES
HAWKS 129, LAKERS 121: Trae Young scored 36 points and Atlanta earned its seventh straight win by rallying in the fourth quarter against visiting Los Angeles.
Young also had 12 assists. John Collins added 20 points with 11 rebounds, and Clint Capela scored 15 points.
Malik Monk led Los Angeles with 33 points in the Lakers’ third consecutive loss.
CLIPPERS 115, HORNETS 90: Reggie Jackson and Brandon Boston Jr. each scored 19 points, and Los Angeles routed Charlotte to improve to 4-3 on its current road trip.
Marcus Morris Sr. added 16 points and Luke Kennard had 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Clippers, who’ll wrap up an eight-game road trip on Monday at Indiana. Justise Winslow also had a big second half and finished with 13 points and eight rebounds as the Clippers’ bench outscored Charlotte’s reserves 62-21.
It was the Clippers’ third-largest margin of victory this season.
BULLS 130, TRAIL BLAZERS 116: Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 14 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan added 23 points and 10 assists and host Chicago overcame a slow to start to beat Portland.
Zach LaVine had 20 points, and Ayo Dosunmu finished with 11 assists. Chicago has won three of four to improve to 31-18.
C.J. McCollum scored 29 points for Portland. Norman Powell added 22, and Anfernee Simons had 21.
PISTONS 115, CAVALIERS 105: Saddiq Bey scored 31 points, Cade Cunningham had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Detroit overcame a terrible start to beat visiting Cleveland.
After Cleveland raced to a 15-0 lead, Detroit cut it to 55-49 at halftime and finally took its first lead in the fourth quarter. Cunningham finished with the triple-double after failing to score in the first half.
Darius Garland had 24 points for Cleveland, which lost for only the second time in 10 games.
NUGGETS 136, BUCKS 100: Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds to help Denver rout Milwaukee.
The reigning NBA MVP just missed his 13th triple-double of the season. He matched his season high for assists.
Denver improved to 4-0 on a six-game trip and matched its longest winning streak of the season.
Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 22 of his 29 points in the first half.
MAGIC 110, MAVERICKS 108: Franz Wagner scored 18 points, including the tiebreaking layup with 54 seconds remaining, and Orlando overcame Luka Doncic’s seventh triple-double of the season to beat visiting Dallas.
Chuma Okeke scored 19 points and helped Orlando win consecutive games for just the second time all season.
Doncic finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Mavericks for the 43rd triple-double of his career, tying Fat Lever for 10th place in NBA history.
SUNS 115, SPURS 110: Devin Booker scored 28 points, Mikal Bridges added a season-high 26 and Phoenix overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win its 10th straight game, beating visiting San Antonio.
The NBA-leading Suns became the first team in the league with 40 wins – against only nine losses. The victory also assured that Coach Monty Williams and the rest of the coaching staff will lead Team LeBron in the All-Star Game next month.
TIMBERWOLVES 126, JAZZ 106: Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Jaden McDaniels scored a season-high 22 points off the bench, and won at home against shorthanded Utah.
Towns caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 16 straight points as the Wolves pushed their four-point halftime lead to 17 entering the fourth quarter. McDaniels’ 22 points came on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting, including 3 of 3 from deep.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 and Mike Conley 22 for Utah, which lost its fifth straight.
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