Lakers' James to reurn nect week

Los Angeles Lakers star Lebron James is expected to miss the next three games and return next week for the team's final four regular season games, The Athletic reported Thursday.

The Lakers play two sets of back-to-back games next week, home vs. the Knicks and Houston, then on the road at Indiana and New Orleans to end the regular season. That means James would likely play in only two of those games to get gameready for the playoffs.

The Lakers entered Thursday's action as the sixth seed in the West at 37-28.

This season, the fourtime NBA MVP is averaging 25.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. (Reuters)