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DENVER – Los Angeles Lakers playmaker Lonzo Ball has made a sprained left ankle in a 117-85 loss to the Denver Nuggets, but said he would be ready to face Indiana on Thursday.
X-rays on Ball's ankle were negative and he is considered everyday.
Ball was injured in the ankle late in the second quarter and started the second half, before being eliminated with 9 minutes and 36 seconds in the third quarter. Coach Luke Walton kept him out until the end of the game.
"I mean, I wanted to play," said Ball. "The coaching staff thought it was better for me to get some rest, so that's what I did. I tried it, and I guess I did not." Had not moved enough for them, so they just shot me. "
Asked about his status for the next Lakers game, Ball replied, "I play Thursday, yes."
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Lonzo Ball said that he had sprained his ankle against the Nuggets, but it would be good to go play Thursday against the Pacers.
Ball sprained his ankle as he stepped back and landed on a Nuggets player who was on the ground. Ball, who said he touched the same place at the left ankle that he had injured earlier in the season, immediately hit his ground fist with frustration.
Ball left the game and went to the locker room with a remnant of 1:44 in the second quarter. He started the third game, but after missing a 3-pointer, caught a rebound and helped Brandon Ingram on a dunk, Walton felt it was better to delay Ball.
"He's very badly sprained his left ankle," Walton said. "But he wanted to give it a try, but his way of moving did not seem like he was leaving it on the field, so we pulled it out quickly."
The Lakers are already without veteran leader Rajon Rondo, who returns from the operation to repair a fractured third metacarpal on his right hand. Rondo was recently allowed to participate in contactless exercises.
"The way we play, with the pace at which we play, it's hard to lose one of our leaders, not to mention not having them both," said Lakers star LeBron James said. "Zo turned her ankle for a weird game, I think it was [Denver’s Monte Morris] who was on the ground. [Ball] did not see him, stepped on his foot, rolled his ankle well. Zo was playing a good ball until that moment. It hurt our team. "
Ball finished with seven points, five rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes. In the three games leading up to the loss in Denver, Ball scored 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3.3 assists on average, while shooting 50%.
The Lakers have a day off before playing three home games in four days, one against two against the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks, followed by Sunday's game against the Phoenix Suns.
"It hurts," said Walton, claiming to be without his two best guards in the second half against Denver. "We have other guys we trust – Brandon, LeBron, who can play that for us – but they do something else for us too, so it's not ideal, but we'll have a better deal." idea of what we are looking at probably after this flight and in the morning with Zo. "
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