The Lakers fell to 2-9 and somehow that wasn’t the worst part of their night.

LeBron James left Wednesday’s game against the Clippers after injuring his groin midway through the fourth quarter.

He made contact with Clippers forward Paul George in the post, was fouled and winced while walking toward the free-throw line. He missed two free throws and left the game immediately, stopping in a hallway to briefly massage the sore area.

He had 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the Lakers’ 114-101 loss at Crypto.com Arena. James will undergo further medical tests Thursday to determine the severity of the strain.

“Didn’t do anything extreme on the play. When I landed, I felt like a little spasm or strain in my groin,” he said.

James missed five weeks in the 2018-19 season because of a strained groin but said this tweak was “not as bad.”

“The body will let me know when it’s time to go… and I’ll be ready to go,” he added.

James, who turns 38 next month, is one of the few dependable Lakers scorers this season. He had 16 points in the first half to help keep the Lakers within 54-52.

The third quarter was a problem for the Lakers — again — as the two-point deficit swelled to 12. The Lakers have the NBA’s worst point differential in the third quarter, losing it by almost six points on average.

“I don’t have the answer to that one,” Russell Westbrook said after contributing 14 points and nine assists. “Just gotta go out and try to figure it out.”

Earlier Wednesday, James talked with reporters about a different injury, a sore left foot that would only improve with one thing — time off.

“Rest is the only way to help it, which I don’t have,” he said.

Anthony Davis had another quiet fourth quarter, scoring only four points in the final 12 minutes as the Lakers failed to close the gap with the Clippers. Davis has scored more than four points in the quarter only twice this season, a stunningly low number.

Paul George scored 29 points and Norman Powell added 18 for the Clippers (7-5), who played without Kawhi Leonard for the 10th time this season.

Lakers guard Lonnie Walker IV missed a second consecutive game because of a non-COVID illness. He is the Lakers’ fourth-leading scorer at 15.3 points a game.

After a brutal start to the season as far as the schedule, the Lakers now hit a soft part of their season. Seven of their next eight games are against teams under .500, including three against San Antonio.