The Lakers were, again, the Lakers — the version from early this season that made optimism seem nothing like foolishness.
For two-and-a-half quarters Sunday night against Memphis, they completely shed the baggage of the past two weeks. The long road miles, the stagnant offense, the physical bruises from losses to bigger, tougher teams all gone.
LeBron James was back, looking like the version of himself that starred this summer in the Olympics. The passes zipped, his feet moved and his control was unquestioned.
This was the team JJ Redick had in the first weeks of the season and the team the Lakers had been desperately trying to recapture in a brutal stretch since.
And then Zach Edey chopped down and pulled on Anthony Davis’ left shoulder, and everything felt like it could change.
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Davis went to the locker room, the Lakers’ offense stalled, their defense wasn’t as ferocious and their 20-point lead was more than cut in half.
An easy night suddenly got tough.
But instead of folding in the face of pressure like they have so many times over the previous 10 games, the Lakers showed toughness. Davis returned in the fourth quarter. Austin Reaves, bloody from an elbow to the mouth, still fought. Max Christie still defended. James still raced around the court.
The Lakers beat Memphis 116-110 in a game the Grizzlies never led. They set the tone physically, they executed offensively, and Davis dominated, tying season highs with 40 points and 16 rebounds.
James, in his first game back after missing the last two, had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Reaves had 19 points and eight assists.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 25 points before fouling out. Ja Morant scored 20, but he needed 21 shots, with Christie playing one of the best defensive games of his career.
It doesn’t ultimately matter where James spent the last week. It does, though, matter where he wasn’t — with the Lakers. And when he came back, LeBron James, again, looked like LeBron James.
His first points came on a thunderous one-handed dunk. He immediately followed up with a trademark block from behind. And his next hoop came on an acrobatic tip-in, his athleticism on display even in Year 22.
But the other changes were more subtle, the signs of James being mentally refreshed just as obvious.
He popped off the bench to engage with his team during the first quarter, shouting instructions. He sprinted the floor to try and get another highlight slam only to be waived off by Reaves, who patiently probed and found a cutting Davis for a bucket.
“Nice pass,” James said on the way back down the court, his cut drawing the defense, the kind of play that doesn’t show up in a box score.
Before the game, Redick said he and James spoke about the veteran taking time away from the team a week ago before James missed the Lakers’ win against Portland. The break was a chance for James to get physically right with his ailing left foot as much as it was for James to get mentally reset a quarter of the way through the season.
“I played 15 [seasons] and was emotionally, mentally, physically drained, fried. I put everything I had into this game,” Redick said. “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.”
The Lakers will all get another break, not playing again until Thursday in Sacramento.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
