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LOS ANGELES — LeBron James returned.
The Lakers introduced a new starting lineup on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies that they hope will stick and played with a renewed defensive tenacity.
Anthony Davis dominated when he wasn’t tending to an apparent left shoulder injury that he played through.
That combination helped lead the Lakers to a 116-110 victory over the Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena in what might have been their most impressive performance since the first week of the season, considering the quality of the opponent.
“Against those guys, you have to play as hard as them, at the very least, to have a chance to win – our guys did that,” Coach JJ Redick said. “Our game discipline was really good. In terms of what we were trying to do defensively, we did a really good job.”
James appeared to be rejuvenated after missing the previous two games because of left foot soreness, giving him eight days of rest, with his renewed energy apparent moments after tipoff.
“I felt pretty good,” said James, who had 18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five turnovers in 34 minutes. “It’s very rare throughout the course of a season where you can take advantage of a schedule and I was able to do that over the past week.”
Early in the first quarter, James had an emphatic dunk in transition, had a chase-down block against Desmond Bane and then tipped in a putback layup during a 20-second stretch to give the Lakers an early lead.
“[The energy] was where I wanted it to be,” James said.
Beyond an early offensive surge, Redick said James’ defensive communication was critical as they held a surging Memphis team to just 39.2% shooting and forced 21 turnovers.
“He’s the best on our team with his attention to detail and shifts,” Redick said. “An important part of us having a good team defense is his talk and his effort level on that.”
But it was Davis who did the heavy lifting for the Lakers, who moved to 14-12 with the victory after losing eight of their previous 11 games.
Davis finished with 40 points, tying his season-high, on 15-of-22 shooting to go with 16 rebounds.
Davis knocked down all four of his midrange shots after entering Sunday shooting 48.8% from the area (15 for 31) in December.
“It forces defenses to honor space and then it allows him to then create opportunities to draw fouls,” Redick said. “So it’s important.”
Davis went back to the locker room after appearing to hurt his shoulder midway through the third quarter while chasing down a defensive rebound, falling to the floor before being tended to by the team’s medical staff.
Davis tried playing through the injury but left with the Lakers leading 81-61 at the 5:30 mark of the third.
“It was a little stinger,” Davis said. “Went in the back and got some work done. I had four fouls, so it was time for me to come out anyway. I wasn’t going back until the fourth, and here I got some treatment and the feeling back and strength back for me to finish the game.”
The Grizzlies took advantage of Davis’ extended absence, closing the third on a 16-5 run that cut the Lakers’ once 23-point lead (81-58 midway through the third) to nine (86-77) entering the fourth.
But the Lakers took back control of the game once Davis returned early in the fourth, the All-Star big man taking the court again with just more than nine minutes remaining.
Davis scored 12 points in the final eight minutes to help secure the win against a Memphis team that entered Sunday in second place in the Western Conference standings after winning 10 of its previous 11 games.
The Grizzlies (18-9) were led by Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Jackson fouled out with 4:12 left in the game, with the Lakers leading 107-98.
The rest of the Grizzlies scored 85 points on 29-of-84 shooting (34.5%).
The Lakers turned Memphis’ 21 turnovers into 27 points, but that was offset by the Lakers’ season-high 23 turnovers for 24 Grizzlies’ points.
Austin Reaves added 19 points and eight assists for the Lakers.
Third-year wing Max Christie started on Sunday, becoming the fourth player after D’Angelo Russell, Cam Reddish and Dalton Knecht to get a shot to start alongside James, Davis, Reaves and Rui Hachimura (eight points, six rebounds).
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Redick said. “And we really feel like as a staff Gabe [Vincent] has been fantastic the last couple weeks, particularly the defensive end with his physicality and on-ball stuff. And he’s also had some good offensive games as well. The size and just the athleticism, and the fact that Max has a really good feel for the game and he can move, was important.
“And then just in terms of his long-term outlook and his growth, I think these opportunities are great for him. With young guys these opportunities are great for them to grow not only confidence but also just the learned experience of our knowledge of being in different situations.”
Christie helped limit Ja Morant to 20 points on 6-of-21 shooting to go with seven rebounds, six assists and seven turnovers.
“My mind was just focused on trying to make it as tough as I could for him,” Christie said. “He’s a really dynamic player. He’s a really good player. So I [wanted] to just do as good of a job as I can, just making it tough for him. And I thought I did a decent job of that.”
Zach Edey added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis, which came into the game as the NBA’s highest-scoring offense but trailed 64-46 at the halftime.
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