The Los Angeles Lakers lost starting center Deandre Ayton to a left knee issue early, then LeBron James to a left elbow injury late, and the team is now one technical foul away from losing Luka Doncic to a one-game suspension.
Ayton played the first four minutes, 30 seconds of Thursday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets before checking out after picking up a foul with L.A. already down 15-3.
The center, who missed two games with right knee soreness before the All-Star break, sat out the rest of the Lakers’ 120-113 loss because of left knee soreness, according to JJ Redick.