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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
BOSTON — The reeling Los Angeles Lakers will be without both LeBron James and Anthony Davis when they play the NBA’s No. 1 team, the Boston Celtics, on Thursday.
The Lakers downgraded both players from questionable to out approximately five hours before tipoff. James is dealing with soreness in his left ankle, and Davis is on the injury report because of bilateral Achilles tendinopathy and left hip spasms, which caused him to miss the Lakers’ 138-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
James and Davis participated in shootaround Thursday with the hope of improving as the day went on, team sources told ESPN.
Davis said, “I feel a little better,” when asked about his hip after shootaround.
With the grind of playing three games in four nights in his 21st season, including 48 minutes against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, the decision was made to rest James.
It is the first game this season that the Lakers will be without both James and Davis.
The Lakers are 1-2 on their current six-game road trip. The Celtics have the best home record in the league at 22-2.