On Christmas Day 2018, the Los Angeles Lakers paid a visit to the reigning NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. The two teams would have an exciting first half that featured Los Angeles cruising to a lead. However, the third quarter brought a scare for the Lakers and their fans as LeBron James suffered an injury. Here are the latest details on LeBron James' injury update, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers' outlook.

LeBron injury update

In the third quarter of today's matchup in Oakland, LeBron James took an awkward slide on the court. That led to James coming up holding his groin and left leg area.

The NBA commentary team drew attention to it and to the fact that James was trying to stretch out the area. Several replays showed the injury as it occurred and then LeBron James attempting the stretches for his groin area. He was also shown mouthing words that he "felt a pop."

After the attempted stretching, James eventually hobbled back to the locker room with trainers for further assessment. As the game moved into the fourth quarter, the report was that James was "questionable to return" so he hadn't been officially ruled out. However, his team was able to seize the lead and LeBron never returned for the remainder of the Lakers' game.

So far, there appears to be good news in that the LeBron injury is not too serious.

A report via Lakers Nation indicated that an initial evaluation showed it is a "slight groin strain." That information came via a tweet from Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.

Lakers coach Luke Walton said that James is scheduled to have an MRI exam on Wednesday to give a further evaluation of his injury. As of then, more information will be available with regards to how much time LeBron could miss if he has to miss any time at all.

LeBron James recorded 17 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and a steal before leaving today's matchup.

Lakers pick up an impressive victory

Ahead of today's game, Draymond Green and the Warriors commented about playing Lebron and the Lakers. Those comments may have served as motivation for King James and company. While seeing LeBron James leave the game wasn't an easy sight for the team or their fans, they still took care of business.

Los Angeles managed to hold off a surging Warriors team in the second half without their leader. Golden State was able to trim a 19-point lead down to just a two-point lead. However, the Lakers kept their composure and regained control of things.

Rajon Rondo was a huge part of today's win. He came off the bench to score 15 points and dished out 10 assists. Starter Ivica Zubac also recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Kuzma led all Lakers with 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting.

As mentioned, the team will now await an outlook in terms of LeBron's injury status.

It's possible he could miss a stretch of games. So far, King James has not missed any games this NBA season. With the way the Lakers managed to hold off the Warriors without James, it was a somewhat optimistic sign going forward. However, James is a huge part of this team's game plan in terms of achieving success in the West and getting into the playoffs.

To say the least, it's been a crazy past week for King James. First, there were outraged NBA GMs after his Anthony Davis comments and then outraged people after his comments on "The Shop" about NFL owners, or the controversial song lyrics he posted. Now James is dealing with an injury, but so far it appears to be less severe then it could have been.
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