LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a big win on Saturday, taking down the Denver Nuggets, 127-125 in overtime. James played a key role in the win, registering 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one triple in 40 minutes of action.

The Lakers improved to 42-25 as they kept their hot streak going. L.A. has now won five straight games and eight in its last nine contests. This recent streak has seen them climb the Western Conference standings. As of writing, James and Co. are third in the West, with a 0.5-game advantage over the fourth-seeded Houston Rockets.

Advertisement

James, however, did not come out of the Nuggets game unscathed. On Monday, the 41-year-old took to social media to share a painful update about an injury he sustained in the win.

James came up with a huge hustle play with under a minute left in regulation. The 22-time All-Star dove for a rebound to keep the possession for his team. Even head coach JJ Redick was left in awe by James’ unexpected move.

“I told him after the game, in 23 years of watching you play in the NBA, and the three years I watched you play in high school, I never saw you make a full-out extension dive like that,” admitted the Lakers coach.

Advertisement

Unfortunately, James gashed his leg on the play, causing a deep cut. The four-time NBA champion shared a video via his Instagram story. He also announced his decision not to perform a similar dive this season.

“Might be it for diving for the year! Ouch 😣!! LOL!” he captioned the post.