A collision with Los Angeles Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 106-111 loss on Christmas Day could force LeBron James to miss time moving forward after aggravating a previous nagging groin injury, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

“I felt healthy going into the game,” said James after posting 23 points on 9-for-24 shooting, with 10 assists and nine rebounds. “I got kneed in the groin taking a charge from Pat Bev, and it kind of set me right back to where I was five days ago.”

James had missed Sunday's game against the Denver Nuggets, his first absence of the 2019-20 season while nursing a groin injury — one that has now flared up after trying to take a charge against Beverley.

Last Christmas, James suffered a torn left groin during a blowout win of the Golden State Warriors — the first major injury of his then 16-year career — which caused him to miss 17 straight games and consequently derailed the Lakers' 2018-19 season.

According to James, the injury he suffered is in the right side of his groin and not as severe as the injury he suffered to the left side of his groin last season, but that “flare-up,” as he described it, could worsen if pushed to its limit.

Several members of the Lakers organization have approached him, asking him to consider sitting out for the next few games to fully recover from this setback.

The Lakers have an upcoming back-to-back, slated to play the Portland Trail Blazers on the road on Saturday and then the Dallas Mavericks at home on Sunday to finish out the calendar year. Though James, who has utterly rejected the notion of load management even at the eve of his 35th birthday, is listed as day-to-day by the team.

“To be honest, I haven't even thought about Portland just yet,” said James, who will turn 35 next week. “I'm always around the clock with my body, getting my treatment. If I'm feeling great, I'll be in the lineup. If I'm feeling well, I'll be in the lineup.

“We'll see what happens.”

James look limited for part of the game against the Clippers, as he became more of a shooter as the game went on and limited his drives to the basket. Ten of his 15 misses came on 3-point attempts, a sign that his downhill explosion was greatly limited by his aggravated groin injury.

The Lakers are amid a season-worst four-game losing skid, despite setting an internal goal of not losing back-to-back games earlier this season — holding only a two-game lead over the Clippers, who have won both matchups played against the Lakers this season.