EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Shaquille O'Neal might be forced to sit out Los Angeles' Saturday night game against the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs because of a sprained left ankle.
O'Neal, the NBA's leading scorer with a 29.5-point average, didn't practice Friday, and was sent to the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in nearby Inglewood for X-rays, which were negative.O'Neal was listed as day-to-day. He apparently sprained his ankle in the first half of Wednesday night's 111-104 victory at Golden State, a game in which he had 49 points and 13 rebounds, team spokesman John Black said.
O'Neal's ankle didn't start bothering him until Thursday, Black said. The Lakers were given that day off.
O'Neal, 28, seems a lock to win his first NBA Most Valuable Player award in his eighth season. In addition to leading the league in scoring, he leads in field goal percentage (.574), and is second in rebounding behind Atlanta's Dikembe Mutombo, who is averaging 14.2 rebounds to O'Neal's 13.6.
The Lakers (64-12) have won 11 straight games, and 30 of 31 since dropping a 105-81 decision at San Antonio on Feb. 1.
The Lakers have already clinched homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, and if they win their last six games, they would become the second NBA team to record 70 regular-season wins. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, coached by current Lakers coach Phil Jackson, won a record 72 games.