Lakers forward Brandon Ingram will miss next two games because of a sprained ankle

Lakers forward Brandon Ingram, who sprained his left ankle Wednesday night while playing against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center, did not travel with the team to Texas.

The Lakers said Ingram was scheduled to get an MRI exam Thursday and that an update will be provided Friday morning.

Ingram will miss the Lakers’ games Friday night at San Antonio and Saturday night at Memphis.

Ingram was injured during the first quarter after he scored over San Antonio forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Ingram came down on Aldridge’s foot and rolled his ankle. Ingram crumbled to the court, but eventually got up and shot the free throw after Aldridge had been called for a flagrant foul on the play.

Josh Hart started three of the four games when Ingram served his four-game suspension for his role in the fight with Houston’s Chris Paul in October.

Hart started the second half Wednesday night against the Spurs after Ingram was injured, so presumably he’ll be the starting guard the next two games.

With Ingram, who has been the backup point guard behind starter Lonzo Ball since reserve point guard Rajon Rondo broke his right hand, Lakers coach Luke Walton said he’ll turn to others to run the show in their absence.

Walton said he’ll look to stagger the playing time of Ball and LeBron James so that he can keep one of his primary ball handlers in the game at all times.

Walton said he can also turn to veteran swingman Lance Stephenson and rookie forward Svi Mykhailiuk to help handle the basketball.

It could also mean more minutes for Ball.

He played a season-high 39 minutes and 38 seconds against the Spurs, including all 12 in the fourth quarter. He’s averaging 27.7 minutes this season.

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Ball was five-for-12 shooting from the field against the Spurs, and scored 14 points. His three-pointer with 2:36 left off a pass from James broke a tie and the Lakers never lost the lead.

“I think Zo and Bron play great together,� Walton said after the win over the Spurs. “I think with their basketball instincts and the way they feel the game out, I feel like they’ve really started to build a nice connection out there together.

“But, yeah, any time a young player is thrown into more responsibility and given more — and Zo will have that with BI being out — it’s a great opportunity for them to get better and learn and take on that responsibility as a challenge. I think Zo will be up for it.�

Etc.

The Lakers called up 6-9 guard Isaac Bonga on Thursday from the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’ NBA development league team. Bonga averaged 14 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 28.5 minutes over 12 starts for the South Bay Lakers. Bonga might see some time with Ingram and Rondo recovering from injuries.

UP NEXT

AT SAN ANTONIO

When: 5:30 p.m. PST, Friday.

On Air. TV: Spectrum SportsNet; Radio: 710, 1330.

Update: These two teams will go at it again after the Lakers defeated the Spurs 121-113 on Wednesday. San Antonio has slipped some on the defensive front, surrendering 113.7 points a game, ranking the Spurs 24th in the NBA. But the Spurs remain one of the league’s top three-point shooting teams by making 38%, fourthbest in the NBA.

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