They are now whole, the return of LeBron James from a right ankle injury making the Lakers complete in a season in which they have been incomplete.
James, who missed the last six games, sustained a high ankle sprain March 20 against the Atlanta Hawks. He missed 20 games and returned to play in two before being sidelined by soreness in the ankle.
Perhaps the clearest indication that James is ready was when he ran the lane, taking a lob pass from the also returning Dennis Schroder and throwing down a one-handed dunk in the first quarter.
So, yes, James’ ankle is just fine, and so were the Lakers in extending their winning streak to four games with a 122-115 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.
Schroder had been in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, forcing him to miss the last seven games over the course of almost two weeks.
Davis had missed the previous game against the Houston Rockets because of groin tightness.
The Lakers still have a shot at avoiding the NBA’s play-in tournament.
Though they have the same record as Portland at 41-30, the Lakers are the seventh seed in the Western Conference because the Trail Blazers hold the series tiebreaker, 2-1.
But if the Lakers defeat the Pelicans in New Orleans on Sunday and the Trail Blazers lose their final regular season game at home to the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles would be the sixth seed and be in the playoffs against either the Clippers or Nuggets. All of those games tip off at 6 p.m. PDT.
