Lakers’ LeBron James, Anthony Davis Out vs. Jayson Tatum, Celtics With Injuries

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Los Angeles Lakers starters LeBron James and Anthony Davis will not play Thursday night against the Boston Celtics, the team told reporters Thursday afternoon.

James is sidelined with left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, while Davis is out with bilateral Achilles tendinopathy and a left hip spasm.

This will mark the second consecutive game missed for Davis, who told reporters Thursday morning he “feels a little better,” per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Davis and James are both averaging 24.9 points per game, and their absences will hurt the 24-25 Lakers’ chances of returning to a .500 record.

The Lakers could be hoping an extra day of rest will be enough to James and Davis recover and return Saturday for a road contest against the New York Knicks.

Most recently, James was sidelined for a Jan. 23 game against the Los Angeles Clippers with left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, an injury head coach Darvin Ham told reporters the Lakers were being “proactive” about by resting James.

Davis has dealt with hip spasms throughout the season. He left a Dec. 6 game early after suffering them while playing against the Miami Heat, then was sidelined due to the same issue for one game each in November and December.

This marks the first time the season Lakers will be without both of their stars in the same game. The team is currently 2-3 without James and 0-3 without Davis.

The rest of the Lakers are set for a tough matchup without James and Davis in Boston. Led by Jayson Tatum’s 26.9 points per game, the Celtics are 37-11 overall, including a 22-2 record at home.

Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell will likely play more minutes in their absence. Reaves put up a season-high 28 points in Davis’ absence during Tuesday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks, while Russell put up just nine, ending a streak of seven straight 20-plus point outings.