CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- LeBron James said he suffered a scratched cornea in his right eye in Friday's 112-105 win over Charlotte after being examined by a Hornets team physician.

James, who scored 32 points in 40 minutes, could not keep his right eye open during his postgame interview session and said his vision was blurry. He was poked in the eye by Jeremy Lamb on his way to a layup with 31.2 seconds left in the third quarter.

James returned to the game, and in the fourth quarter fell hard on his lower back after he was fouled on a layup attempt by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Summing it all up, James said "if coach decides to give me a game off (Saturday), it's not because I'm resting. It's because I'm banged up."

The Cavs play the Wizards Saturday night at The Q. They are 0-6 without James this season and hold just a one-game lead over Boston for first in the East.

The Hornets' physician who examined James after the game returned to the Cavs' locker room later Friday evening to administer some eye drops.

James called timeout for extra time to shake off the injury, and converted the free throw afterwards.

James took 16 free throws and made 14. Both are season highs. The Hornets hadn't allowed their previous two opponents to shoot more than 20 free throws in the last two games.

Coach Tyronn Lue said "that's the most I've ever seen LeBron hit the deck. He hit the deck a few times. It was a physical game."

Kyrie Irving added: "I don't like anybody hitting my brother like that. But it's gearing up for playoff basketball. Some hits are definitely coming, some plays, some fights as you can see. So we just got to protect ourselves and protect our brothers if something happens like that. Obviously no one wants to get suspended but if it goes too far, as men we've got to protect our brothers.