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ANGELES -- One of the main protagonists in the alleged "battle for L.A." will not be present on Tuesday.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has ruled himself out due to left ankle soreness, the organization said on Monday.
Despite being 2-0 versus their local rivals, the LA Clippers (27-14), the No. 4 club in the West, the Lakers (22-22) are ranked ninth in the Western Conference.
James, 39, is now enjoying the most dominating season of any player in NBA history, averaging 24.8 points, 7.4 assists, and 7.2 rebounds in his 21st season. He is making 52% of his field goals and 39.1% of his threes.
James will have missed five games so far this season. Without him, the Lakers have a 2-2 record so far.
Cavs' Emoni Bates suspended 2 games in G League for entering stands
CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers rookie forward Emoni Bates was suspended two games without pay by the NBA G League on Monday for going into the stands after his game with the Cleveland Charge over the weekend.
G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced that Bates and Charge teammate Gabe Osabuohien were suspended for "entering the spectator stands" after the game Saturday in Alabama.
The league did not provide any other details about the incident, which happened after the Charge's 126-105 loss to the Birmingham Squadron.
Bates and Osabuohien will begin serving their suspensions Monday night when the Charge visit the Osceola Magic, league said.
The Cavaliers selected Bates in the second round of last year's NBA draft. The 19-year-old, who had been touted as one of the nation's top prospects since his early teens, has appeared in 10 games for the Cavs and averaged 1.8 points in 7.6 minutes.
Bates spent one season at Memphis before transferring to Eastern Michigan in his hometown of Ypsilanti. He was suspended last season after an arrest on felony gun charges that were later dismissed.
Once he was reinstated, 6-foot-9 Bates averaged 19.2 points and 5.8 rebounds for Eastern Michigan, and the Cavs were intrigued enough by his potential to select him with the No. 49 pick.
Hawks' Trae Young suffers concussion, out indefinitely
Guard Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks left Saturday's 116-95 defeat against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth quarter, resulting in a concussion diagnosis.
With 8:43 remaining in the game, Young departed the game after inadvertently being elbowed in the face by the Cavaliers' Isaac Okoro while charging the basket. Young headed back to the locker room after spending a few minutes on the floor and did not come back.
There's no set schedule for when Young will return. Before returning to basketball activity, he has to go through the league's concussion protocol to make sure he is symptom-free.
Due to an illness, he missed Friday's matchup with the Miami Heat.
Young is second in the NBA in assists per game with 10.8, and he scored 15 points in the Cavaliers game. Young now averages 26.9 points per game.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
