LeBron James returned to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night in a 116-110 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies after a two-game break.
James is fighting a left foot injury and was away from the team most of last week because of personal reasons.
James did not play on Dec. 8 against Portland or Friday night at Minnesota. The Lakers announced about 45 minutes before tip-off against Memphis that James’ status had been upgraded from questionable to available.
Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/USA Today
James had 18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five turnovers in 34 minutes.
“I felt pretty good,” James said. “It’s very rare throughout the course of the season where you can take advantage of the schedule, and I was able to do that the past week.”
The Lakers described James’ time away as an excused absence while saying that he has also been managing some left foot pain.
Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/USA Today
Lakers coach JJ Redick revealed before the game with Memphis that he and the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player met on the day of the Portland game to discuss his plan for a break.
“When I talked to him earlier this week, I think I said something along those lines, just hoping that he was getting a good mind and body reset,” Redick said in his pregame availability on Sunday. “He said he felt like he was.”
James is the NBA’s oldest player and turns 40 on Dec. 30. Including playoffs, no player in league history has appeared in more games or played more minutes than James — who is in his 22nd season, tying Vince Carter for the NBA record.
“I felt my foot, felt my body... I did my pregame workout on that Sunday for the Portland game and decided it was probably best if I took that day off,” James said. “I had the opportunity to take more days and get my mind, body and just everything where I wanted to be for tonight, and it worked out.”
Redick indicated that he could appreciate if James felt the need for a few days off.
“I played 15 [years] and was emotionally, mentally, physically drained, fried,” Redick said. “I put everything I had into this game. I had nothing left. For guys like him and [Chris Paul], the Tom Brady’s of the world, the Roger Federer’s 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.”
James said he spent most of his time away rehabbing his foot and training to stay in game shape.
“It was a very easy decision for myself and for the team and for my trainer to be able to take advantage of those days, just for everything,” James said. “It was great.”
James is averaging 23 points, 9.1 assists and eight rebounds this season. He also has seven triple-doubles, second-most in the NBA behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
Elsewhere on Sunday, it was:
‧ Pelicans 104, Pacers 119
‧ Celtics 112, Wizards 98
‧ Knicks 100, Magic 91
‧ Timberwolves 106, Spurs 92
‧ Trail Blazers 109, Suns 116
‧ Mavericks 143, Warriors 133
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