LeBron James (illness) misses Lakers' loss to Wolves

LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James sat out the Los Angeles Lakers' 127-117 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night because of flu-like symptoms.

The Lakers announced three hours before tipoff that James would miss his 11th game of the season. L.A. has gone 6-5 without the top scorer in NBA history in its lineup.

In the previous game James missed, at Milwaukee on March 26, the Lakers stormed back from 19 points down in the fourth quarter to beat theBucksin double overtime.

"Just a next man up mentality," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said during Sunday's pregame remarks when asked about filling in for the 21-year veteran. "Obviously, that's a lot of work that's left out of the lineup. But at the end of the day, we just got to be ready to manage it, and different guys have to be ready to step up."

James reported to Crypto.com Arena on Sunday afternoon to begin his pregame preparation for the Wolves and decided to go back home because of a stomach virus, Ham said.

"He came to start his process today, and I think he left early," Ham said. "He just wasn't feeling well."

James had 24 points and 12 assists on Saturday while the Lakers beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 116-97 for their ninth victory in 10 games. The win finally moved the Lakers into eighth place in the Western Conference standings for the first time since late December, even though L.A. is on a 26-12 surge since midseason.

L.A. has a crucial contest on Tuesday, when it hosts the Golden State Warriors, who are currently No. 10 in the West.

Ham was unsure of James' availability for the Warriors game.

"We'll see how he wakes up [Monday]," the coach said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.