In the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 to advance past the first round, there was an injury sustained.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN has reported that Lakers forward LeBron James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee from his collision in the fourth quarter with Minnesota's Donte DiVincenzo in Wednesday’s loss. He also reported the injury typically has a 3-5 week recovery.
This indicates that even if the Lakers won Game 5, James would've likely missed the rest of the series at the least. In addition to their chances of coming back in the series being unlikely with James, this injury would've ended an impressive streak by James.
"Had the Lakers extended their series with the Wolves for Game 6 tonight in Minnesota, they would be without James and James’ record streak of 292 straight playoff games without sitting out would have been snapped," McMenamin tweeted.
Even at 40-years-old, James still had a solid showing in the first round series against Minnesota. He still averaged 25.4 points, nine rebounds, and 5.6 assists. In Games 4 and 5, the Timberwolves did an incredible job defending James. They held him to 21 points in Game 4 and only 19 points in Game 5.
The leading scorer in NBA history has played in a league-record 292 postseason games. In which he has never missed a playoff appearance for his teams during his 22 seasons in the NBA. If the Lakers had avoided elimination against the Timberwolves in Game 5, that streak would have finally ended.
Instead, Minnesota will rest and prepare for their Conference Semi-Finals matchup. If the Golden State Warriors close out the series Friday night, the Wolves would have the home-court advantage and the series would start Monday at Target Center. If the Houston Rockets find a way to win both Game 6 and Game 7, Minnesota would be the road team heading to Houston for Game 1 on Tuesday.
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