LeBron James’ walking boot is OFF following foot injury, as he returns courtside for Lakers

LeBron James is appearing to progress from the foot injury he suffered vs. the Mavericks on February 26, as he showed up to watch the Lakers face the Knicks without his walking boot on.

James was spotted with the boot last week as his team took on the Warriors, and after taking a week away from the team, it looks like he’s on track to return to the court later this month.

‘Everything is going according to plan,’ Lakers coach Darvin Ham said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Under the timeline the Lakers provided earlier this month, James wouldn’t be expected to return earlier than March 23 from the foot issue.

LA said on March 2 that James would be re-evaluated in three weeks, though a return exactly on that date is likely optimistic.

LeBron James ditched the walking boot on Sunday, a week after being seen with it

James hurt his foot vs. the Mavericks on February 26th, and hasn’t played since

Including the Mavs game where James got hurt, the Lakers are 5-3 since the injury after Sunday’s home 112-108 loss to the Knicks.

While James has only played 47 of 68 games this season due to injury, LA only has a 24-23 record with him in the lineup.

However, they’ve been an improved group since the deadline after trading for D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley, and shipping out Russell Westbrook.

After Sunday’s deflating loss – which prevented them reaching a .500 record for the first time in more than a year – the Lakers are tied for 10th in the West, two games out of the sixth seed.

RJ Barrett scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and the Knicks stopped a three-game losing streak by holding on for the victory over their hosts Sunday night.

Julius Randle bounced back after his poor showing on Saturday, leading the team in scoring

RJ Barrett scored 30 points in the win for the Knicks, who snapped a three-game losing streak

Julius Randle led the Knicks with 33 points after shooting 5-of-24 in Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, but it was Barrett playing the role of closer.

Barrett was 6 of 12 in the fourth quarter and hit the tiebreaking basket when his layup snapped a 93-93 tie with 9:26 remaining. 

Barrett hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 106-96 with 5:01 left and his basket made it 110-100 with 2:34 left but it was New York’s final basket and the Knicks survived a dicey finish.

A layup by Dennis Schroder made it 110-108 with 19.3 seconds left and Josh Hart hit two free throws with five seconds remaining to make it 112-108. After the Lakers called their final timeout, the game ended when Russell missed a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left.