DENVER -- Miami Heat forward LeBron James will return to action Monday night at Denver.
"It's fun to be playing, to be playing the game that I love on my birthday," James said. "The last couple of days I got extensive therapy. It felt better and better each and every hour. This morning I went through shootaround and felt pretty good. It got a little warm-up, too. I feel like I can go. I feel great, like I did when I started the game at [Sacramento]."
James, who turned 29 on Monday, strained his right groin in Miami's overtime loss Friday night at Sacramento. He sat out the Heat's game Saturday night in Portland, a 108-107 comeback win for the Heat on Chris Bosh's game-winning 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining.
"The way they played last game, I hate to miss any of that action," James said. "Congratulations to [Bosh] on being player of the week, and he definitely showed why he's one of the best 4s, 5s in our league. I'm happy to be back in the lineup."
In 29 games this season, James has averaged 25.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 36 minutes per game. His player efficiency rating is a league-leading 29.65, and his 67.3 true shooting percentage ranks second in the NBA.
