LeBron James sprained a ligament in his left knee during the Los Angeles Lakers’ final playoff game, multiple sources reported. Neither the team nor James made a public announcement two days after the Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games.

ESPN first reported James’ injury.

James, 40, would have been sidelined for at least a few weeks if the Lakers had avoided elimination or advanced out of the first round due to the severity of the injury, which was identified in a postseason medical exam.

The top scorer in NBA history has played in a league-record 292 postseason games, never missing a playoff appearance for his teams during his record-tying 22 seasons. If the Lakers had avoided elimination in Game 5, that streak would have ended.

James got hurt in the fourth quarter of Game 5 when Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo collided with him while throwing an aggressive screen. DiVincenzo was called for an offensive foul on the play, which left James on the ground in apparently serious pain for several moments.

James left the game briefly, but returned moments later to play the final 7:23 in the Lakers’ 103-96 loss. James finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Iisalo given full-time job by Grizzlies: Tuomas Iisalo, who was appointed interim coach of the Memphis Grizzlies in the waning days of the regular season, was given the full-time job and becomes the first Finnish-born coach in the NBA.

The team announced the hiring but terms of Iisalo’s contract were not released. He joined the Grizzlies as the lead assistant this past season.

Iisalo took over the team on March 28 after the Grizzlies returned home from an 0-5 trip, the last loss coming at Oklahoma City. The road trip led to the firing of Taylor Jenkins, the winningest coach in Grizzlies franchise history.

“I have full confidence in Tuomas serving as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies going forward,” Grizzlies president Zach Kleiman said in a statement. “Tuomas’ teams at every level have been disciplined, tenacious and connected on both ends of the floor, consistently exceeding expectations. We look forward to the same in Memphis.”

Bucks’ Lillard has surgery on torn Achilles: Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard had surgery to repair the left Achilles tendon he tore Sunday in a playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers.

The Bucks said Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the surgery in Los Angeles, with consultation from team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Carole Vetter.

Lillard was helped off the court midway through the first quarter of the Bucks’ 129-103 loss in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series with the Pacers. The Bucks announced Monday that the seven-time all-NBA guard had torn his Achilles tendon.

The Bucks played without Lillard in Game 5 on Tuesday and lost 119-118 in overtime at Indiana, enabling the Pacers to clinch the best-of-7 series.

Lillard played three games in that series as he made a remarkably fast return from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. Deep vein thrombosis is an abnormal clot within a vessel where the congealing of blood blocks the flow through on the way back to the heart.

After missing the Bucks’ last 14 regular-season games, Lillard was taken off blood-thinning medication and cleared to resume full basketball activity. Lillard missed Game 1 of the Pacers series to work his way back and then returned in Game 2.

Lillard, 34, ranked 10th in the NBA in scoring (24.9) and assists (7.1) this season while earning his ninth All-Star Game selection.