Lakers' Steve Blake has a fracture in rib area

Backup guard Steve Blake suffered a fracture of the cartilage that connects the rib to the sternum, an MRI exam today showed. He was hurt during the Lakers' victory Tuesday over the Phoenix Suns and aggravated it during their overtime victory Wednesday over the Jazz in Utah. He left the game and was treated in the locker room, returning to watch the last few minutes of overtime from the bench.

The Lakers said Blake would be re-evaluated in the next few days. They list his status for Friday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers as day-to-day. Rookie Darius Morris could be used as a replacement for Blake. Morris had four points in his NBA debut Wednesday.

The team didn't practice today and neither Blake nor coach Mike Brown was available for comment.