The Associated Press reports that LeBron James was a late scratch from the Cleveland Cavaliers game against the Boston Celtics on Monday with a sprained left ankle.

James, who hurt the ankle in Cleveland's loss to Detroit on April 12, originally missed one game before playing 29 minutes in Cleveland's 104-92 loss to Washington on Sunday.

But with the Cavaliers locked into the fourth seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs, James said it wasn't worth risking further injury with the playoffs starting this weekend.

"Record-wise and going into the playoffs, we can't improve," James said. "I'm trying to get as much rest as I can. I don't want to try to force the action by playing on an ankle that's not 100 percent."

The Cavaliers still won the game 93-88.