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LeBron heads to the locker room with an apparent injury (0:26)

James went to the locker room with an injury. There is a time and a place.

12:49 AM ET

The Lakers star left the game against the Clippers with a groin injury and did not return.

James will have a medical exam on his groin on Thursday to find out the severity of the injury.

James injured his groin in the fourth quarter and had to leave the game. He was dealing with leg pain.

James said he didn't do anything extraneous on the play when he appeared to modify something while posting up Paul George. I felt a twinge in my groin when I landed. When I went to the free throw line after that, I had to leave.

James missed 17 games in the middle of the season due to a groin injury.

James compared his current pain to what he went through four years ago.

James wasn't sure if he'd play in L.A.'s next game against the Kings.

He said he would be in the lineup if the treatment went well.

James had 30 points on 12-for-22 shooting, eight rebound, five assists and two steals in 32 minutes despite the injury.

After the game, Darvin Ham told James to take care of his body and do what he needs to. Losing James, the team's leader in minutes, points and assists, for any amount of time would be a major challenge for a team that's 2-9 after four losses in a row.

It's just a lot of adversity, according to Ham. James has been working hard to be there for us and play well. I was pretty sure he had it going. The NBA season is what it is. It's important to be prepared for a little bit of everything. Once he is evaluated, we will be ready to move forward.

Anthony Davis said he will feel compelled to take on more if James misses a game because he doesn't want anyone on the Lakers to feel like a hero.

"For me, the mindset switches to just going out, being aggressive and trying to find ways to help the team win -- whether it's more shots or know it's my job to make these guys better," said Davis. My job is my job. It's heightened when a person like James is on the floor.

James appeared relatively calm about the injury, saying, "I stay even-keel no matter what's going on," but there was line of questioning that irked him.

He has only attempted four free throws or fewer five times this season.

James wants the whistle to be blown when he gets hit. A lot of guys shoot a lot of jump shots and they go to the free throw line a lot.

I need to learn how to fall. It's really serious. I don't know how to do that. He hears an explanation from the referees that the 'I missed it' is getting repetitive, so he needs to wipe his head back or something. Three games in a row, I missed it.