MIAMI -- A 26-point scoring effort would seem to indicate a player being in good health.
That's not necessarily so when it comes to LeBron James, whose team-high output helped the Miami Heat rally to a 99-98 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday night.
After enduring lower back stiffness and soreness most of the season, James said he was "rounding third" and getting close to being healthy after scoring 35 points to help Miami beat Phoenix at home Nov. 25.
But then the forward aggravated his back during a win at Toronto on Friday night.
"It's not where I was before the Toronto game," James said after Miami rallied from 14 points down to beat Charlotte. "It's frustrating, but I'm still able to help our team. As long as I can do that, I'll be in uniform."
James, who normally speaks to the media before every game, did not on Sunday because he was receiving therapy on his back instead.
"I'm just trying to stay on it and do the same things I did when I got it back close to a hundred percent," he said.
The flight from Toronto to Miami did not help.
"It never helps, no matter what type of injury you have," James said. "But it's good to be back (home) but we have a couple days before we hit the road again on Wednesday. We'll see what happens."
Charlie McCarthy can be reached at mac1763@bellsouth.net or on Twitter @mccarthy_chas.
