LeBron misses 2nd half of All-Star Game with hand contusion
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James did not play in the second half of Sunday's All-Star Game after sustaining a hand contusion.
James injured his hand in the second quarter while attempting to block a layup by Pascal Siakam. The Lakers forward struck the hoop with his right hand, catching his fingers on the rim.
LeBron catches his pinky on the rim and is out of the All-Star game with an injury pic.twitter.com/0m7DxsaerN
— dave (@nbadaves) February 20, 2023
The 38-year-old, whose 19th All-Star selection tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history, doesn't believe the hand issue is a serious concern.
"Coach (Michael Malone) is a defensive-minded coach. I had him in my early days in Cleveland and I told him I'm going to get one stop for him," James said postgame when explaining how he got hurt, according to Southern California News Group's Kyle Goon. "Tried to get one little chase-down block and got my finger caught in the rim, but I'll be fine, though. I'll be fine.
"I don't think it's too much to worry about, but for precautionary reasons, just had to take the rest of the night off."
James was honored at halftime in a ceremony led by former teammate Dwyane Wade for breaking the NBA's all-time scoring record earlier this month.
James joined Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in checking out of Sunday's contest early. Antetokounmpo, who had a hand injury of his own entering the All-Star Game, completed one dunk before picking up an intentional foul to quickly remove himself from the contest.