After missing two games with a foot injury, LeBron James returned to the lineup on Sunday night and led the Los Angeles Lakers to a win like nothing had happened.
James finished just shy of a triple-double and seemed largely back to his old self in the Lakers’ 116-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena. He had 18 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in the win.
James first missed last Sunday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers with a store foot. James then missed time at practice last week, including one that was labeled simply for “personal reasons.” He did not play in Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves either, and coach JJ Redick didn’t seem to have an idea as to when he’d be back on the floor.
But before the game, Redick revealed that he and James spoke about the star taking time off to recover from his left foot injury — which is something that sounded like was much-needed.
“I played 15 [seasons] and was emotionally, mentally, physically drained, fried. I put everything I had into this game,” Redick said, via the Los Angeles Times. “I had nothing left. For guys like him and [Chris Paul], Tom Bradys of the world, the Roger Federers of the world, it’s hard to comprehend having that level of sustained excellence for so long, because of the toll that it takes on all of you, not just your body.”
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The Lakers, who built up a 20-point lead at one point in the third quarter, appeared as if they were going to cruise to a dominant win on Sunday night. But the game nearly flipped completely when star big man Anthony Davis went down with a shoulder injury during that period after he collided with Grizzlies center Zach Edey.
Davis left the game briefly for the locker room, and the Grizzlies almost immediately cut the game to single digits. They ended the third quarter on a 16-5 run after Davis left the game, too.
But Davis returned to the game in the fourth quarter to close out the wire-to-wire win. He matched season-highs with 40 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers. Austin Reaves finished with 19 points and eight assists. Those two and James were the only Lakers players to hit double figures.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 25 points in the loss. Ja Morant finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Edey finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for Memphis, which now sits at 18-9 on the season.
The Lakers improved to 14-12 with the win, which was just their second in their last six games. Even though his sudden absence may have been concerning, James insisted after the game that he was in a good place health-wise. After taking a week off, and with the Lakers not due to play again until Thursday when they take on the Sacramento Kings, he should be good to go.
“I feel pretty good,” James said, via The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds. “It’s very rare throughout a season when you can take advantage of a schedule and I was able to do that over the past week.”
