EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Just what the Lakers didn’t need.

LeBron James left Saturday’s game early in the second quarter with a right ankle injury as the Lakers lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 99-94, at Staples Center.

James was trying to pick up a loose ball near the sideline when Hawks forward Solomon Hill fell onto his right ankle while also pursuing the ball. James crumpled to the court and rolled over several times in pain. He briefly stayed in the game and made a three-pointer before limping to the locker room. The Lakers trailed by two at the time.

There were no additional details about the extent of the injury immediately after the game. Kyle Kuzma said he’d never heard James yell in pain like he did after Hill ran into him.

"I don’t think any of us have ever heard LeBron scream like that," added teammate Markieff Morris. "He’s a tough guy."

“He’s bounced back before, and he will in a couple days,” said Lakers guard Dennis Schröder.

The Lakers (28-14) start a brief trip Sunday in Phoenix and conclude it Tuesday in New Orleans before coming back to play Eastern Conference front-runner Philadelphia on Thursday at Staples Center.

James kept the short-handed Lakers in good shape over the last several weeks without Anthony Davis, who missed 16 of the last 18 games because of calf and Achilles’ tendon soreness. Davis has begun to increase his physical activity but is out at least another week, if not longer.

James, 36, is the presumed front-runner for the NBA MVP award with strong across-the-board stats while sitting out only one game despite an atypically brief off-season.

If the Lakers need to find inspiration without their two All-Stars, they can rewind to last season’s easy victory in Oklahoma City without James and Davis. Kuzma had 36 points as the Lakers won that night, 125-110.

As for Saturday’s game, Montrezl Harrell had 23 points, including 22 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to beat an improved Atlanta team. The Lakers struggled to contain Hawks power forward John Collins, who had 27 points and 16 rebounds, along with three steals and three blocked shots.

Schröder scored 16 points, but backcourt mate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting — the first time he was blanked in a game since November 2019. Kuzma was fairly quiet as well, with only eight points and five rebounds in 37 minutes.

There was one interesting note from the game, if not a mildly uplifting one for James and Lakers fans: The three-pointer James made before hobbling off the court gave him 10 points for the game and extended his NBA-record streak of double-digit scoring to 1,036 games.