LeBron James ruled out of Lakers matchup with Celtics one day after historic NBA streak ends

LeBron James will have to wait a few more days to begin a new double-digit scoring streak.The Lakers announced their superstar will sit out their road matchup with the Celtics on Friday, a tilt that comes a day after he failed to log at least 10 points in a regular-season game for the first time since 2007.The team stated James’ absence is due to ongoing issues with sciatica and left foot joint arthritis.James, 40, missed the first month of the NBA season while dealing with sciatica, making his return on Nov.23 against the Utah Jazz.

He scored 17 points and recorded six rebounds and eight assists.He’s since played in four games, with his most notable performance coming Thursday night against Toronto.James logged just eight points in the contest, which snapped an incredible run of 1,297 games of scoring at least double digits.The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, though, did make the pass that led to the game-winning basket at the buzzer, something he said made him feel zero regret about losing his historic mark.“None,” he told media members.

“We won.”The Lakers are 4-1 in games James has played in.On the season, they’re 16-5.Tip-off for Friday night’s matchup is 7 p.m.

ET, and in addition to no James, the Lakers will also be without Luka Doncic (personal) and Marcus Smart (left lumbar muscle strain).The Celtics, meanwhile, head into the game healthy, as Jaylen Brown, who missed Boston’s game against the Wizards on Thursday night, is slated to return to the hardwood....