LeBron James: Lakers 'Can Compete Versus Anyone' After Loss to Celtics Despite Injury

Despite the Los Angeles Lakers' eight-game winning streak coming to an end Saturday, LeBron James expressed his belief that L.A. can go toe to toe with any team in the NBA.

Speaking to reporters following the Lakers' 111-101 road loss to the Boston Celtics, James said:

"We can compete versus anyone in this league. So we'll be fine. We got to continue to build our habits. We're not where [the Celtics] are, the defending champion. And they've been playing basketball together for a long time. And they got a great chemistry and know what they want to do. We made an acquisition late in the season, and we're still trying to build. And we want to get full.

"That's the No. 1 objective for us: How we can get full and get all our guys together and see exactly what we look like."

While the loss dropped the Lakers to 40-22 on the season and caused them to dip from second to third in the Western Conference, the biggest worry coming out of it was the health of James.

The 40-year-old superstar exited Sunday's game with 6:44 remaining due to a left groin strain and did not return. Even so, James said there is "not much concern" about the severity and added that he would "go day to day" in his recovery.

LeBron finished the game just shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, while Luka Dončić led the Lakers with 34 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists.

That was no match for the Celtics, though, as Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 40 points to go along with his 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Jaylen Brown poured in another 31 points.

Saturday's game wasn't particularly close most of the way, as Boston led by 20 entering the fourth quarter, although L.A. was able to make the score look a bit better by outscoring the Celtics 34-24 in the fourth.

The 34 points he scored Saturday were Dončić's most as a Laker since arriving in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks, and he now has 29 or more points in five straight contests.

If James is forced to miss any time at all due to his groin injury, the scoring burden will fall primarily on Dončić's shoulders with Austin Reaves and a few others chipping in.

The Lakers will return to action Monday with a road game against the Brooklyn Nets, followed by two more road games against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday and the Denver Nuggets on Friday.

Los Angeles will then return home next Sunday to face the Phoenix Suns, beginning a five-game homestand.