LOS ANGELES — Lakers star LeBron James missed Saturday night’s 132-122 victory against the Sacramento Kings due to illness.
It was the third game James missed of the season. Gabe Vincent started in place of James and was held scoreless in seven minutes before being ruled out with an oblique strain.
James missed practice Friday due to illness and was listed as questionable for the Sacramento game.
“Don’t worry, he’s just a little sick,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of James.
The 22-year-old veteran will have the opportunity for four days of recovery ahead of Los Angeles’ next game on Tuesday, when he hosts his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs game also falls on the schedule one day after James’ 40th birthday.
Without him, LA completed the season sweep of Sacramento, winning all four matchups.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 36 points, 12 of 16 shooting, 15 rebounds and 8 assists. Austin Reaves contributed 26 points and dished out a career-high 16 assists.
“It’s really about playing the game the right way, trusting the offense, the system we have,” Reaves said. “It’s never fun not having Bron. He creates a lot of chaos and security for us. But it’s just a collective group. Everyone knows that they too have to step up and do something for us to be successful.”
The Kings were coached by Doug Christie in his first game as interim coach since Mike Brown was fired on Friday.
The Lakers have now won five of their last six games to sit just a game and a half behind the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.
