LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will miss his second straight game Tuesday night because of his sprained left ankle, the Lakers announced in Phoenix before their game against the league-leading Suns.
James, who suffered the injury more than a week ago in New Orleans, returned to action Friday in a contest with the Pelicans but was unable to play Sunday against Denver because of soreness.
He had been listed as questionable against the Suns.
The Lakers, who have lost six consecutive games as they've tried to squeeze into the NBA's play-in tournament, could be eliminated from the postseason Tuesday with a loss to Phoenix and a Spurs win against Denver.
James is currently the NBA's scoring leader, but he's in jeopardy of relinquishing that spot unless he plays in 70% of his team's games. He's currently two shy of that mark.
Players can qualify as the NBA's scoring leader if their point total divided by the minimum-game requirement still leads the NBA. James' 1,695 points this season divided by the requirement would have him third on the scoring list, behind the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid and the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo.
If 37-year-old James did win the scoring title, he'd eclipse Michael Jordan as the oldest to win it. Jordan was 35 when he won his last title in 1997-98. It would also be James' second scoring title; he won the first during the 2007-08 season at 30.0 points per game.
