Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown both got hurt on Monday after they collided mid-game.
While James was guarding Brown midway through the second quarter, the two players accidentally hit each other when the Celtics star slipped on the floor. The two then quickly went down in pain, with James nursing his left knee and Brown lying on his stomach after hurting his back.
LeBron was benched and got treatment after the incident, while Brown headed to the Celtics’ locker room to get checked.
Fortunately for the Lakers, LeBron James was able to return to the contest. The Celtics got a bit of a scare, though, with the team initially labeling Jaylen Brown as questionable to return because of a lower back contusion.
Moments later, however, the Celtics announced that Brown was available to play.
It would have been disastrous for both teams had they lost both players to injury. Luckily for everyone, that wasn’t the case. Christmas was also saved for all the fans in attendance at Crypto.com Arena, as they didn’t have to endure the absence of James and Brown.
The last thing the NBA needed is another injury to star players as well, especially with the Miami Heat-Philadelphia 76ers game also missing their top guys in Jimmy Butler (calf) and Joel Embiid (ankle). Hopefully, all players in the NBA’s Christmas Day slate will be able to stay healthy throughout. It would just be bad to see someone go down in such a festive day for the league.