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.
The combination helped lead the Lakers to a 116-110 win over the Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena in what may have been their most impressive performance since the first week of the season, considering the quality of the opponent.
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.
Early in the first quarter, James (18 points, eight assists and eight rebounds) had an emphatic dunk in transition, had a chase-down block against Desmond Bane and then tipped in a putback layup in 20 seconds to give the Lakers an early lead.
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 a season-high, on 15-of-22 shooting to go with 16 rebounds.
The All-Star big man 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.
The Grizzlies took advantage of Davis’ extended absence, closing out the third on a 16-5 run to 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 to the Lakers’ bench early in the fourth and eventually onto the court with just over nine minutes remaining.
Davis scored 12 points of his scoring total in the final eight minutes to seal the win over the Grizzlies, who entered Sunday as No. 2 in the Western Conference standings and winners of 10 of their last 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.
Non-Jackson Grizzlies scored 85 points on 29-of-84 shooting (34.5%).
Austin Reaves added 19 points and eight assists for the Lakers. Third-year wing Max Christie started on Sunday, helping limit Ja Morant to 20 points on 6-of-21 shooting to go with seven rebounds and six assists.
