LeBron James to return Saturday night against Knicks

LeBron James is back, Lakers fans.

James is set to return from a knee injury Saturday night as the Lakers host the Knicks, The Athletic's Shams Charania reports. He was sidelined for Los Angeles' previous five games.

The Lakers will gladly welcome James back, as they have lost four of their last five since he went down. The injury was not believed to be suffered in-game, as James woke up in Philadelphia more than a week ago with soreness in his left knee. After fighting through the pain for a light shootaround, he was ruled out against the 76ers, a game the Lakers went on to lose by 18.

After James missed that game in addition to losses against the Hornets, Hawks and Clippers and a win over the Trail Blazers, optimism began to emerge that he could return during this homestand. He will indeed take the floor against the Knicks, and barring any setbacks will be out there for when the Lakers host the Bucks on Tuesday.

James is averaging 29.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game through 36 games played this season. He ranked third in the league in scoring behind Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant before the injury, but currently does not meet the playing-time eligibility mark to make the leaderboard.

Los Angeles and New York are set to tipoff at 5:30 pm PST on ESPN.