Anthony Davis takes over as Lakers top Grizzlies

Anthony Davis shrugged off an injury scare to match season bests of 40 points and 16 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 116-110 on Sunday night.

Austin Reaves had 19 points and eight assists while LeBron James, back after missing two games due to a foot injury, chalked up 18 points, eight boards and eight assists for Los Angeles.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 25 points before fouling out for the Grizzlies, whose four-game winning streak came to an end. Ja Morant had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, offset by a 6-for-21 clip from the floor and seven turnovers.

Davis retreated to the locker room with 5:30 remaining in the third quarter after hurting his left shoulder in a collision with Memphis center Zach Edey during a rebounding contest.

However, Davis returned with 9:19 left in the fourth quarter and picked up right where he left off, scoring seven straight Lakers points soon after.

James got off to a fast start, dishing out two assists to Davis in the opening minute of the contest before following a thunderous slam with a chase-down rejection of Desmond Bane. He then scored on a tip-in to give Los Angeles a 9-2 edge.

Davis had 12 points and seven boards in the first quarter, which ended with the Lakers up 30-20. The Grizzlies went 5-for-20 from the field in what was their lowest-scoring first quarter of the season.

The Lakers' cushion grew to 44-29 thanks to a 10-0, second-quarter burst, which included a triple from Reaves.

Davis posted a double-double before the teams entered the break, racking up 22 points and 10 rebounds over the first 24 minutes of action to send Los Angeles into intermission up 64-46.

After seeing their deficit grow to 23, 81-58, with 6:22 to go in the third quarter, the Grizzlies took advantage of Davis' absence and closed the frame on a 19-5 run.

Morant used a reverse layup to get Memphis within seven at 105-98 with 5:24 left in the game, but the hosts found a way to hold on.

--Field Level Media