LOS ANGELES — LeBron James missed his first shot and his last shot, a three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left that would have given the Los Angeles Lakers the lead, in his return to the court for L.A. during a 110-106 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
His first basket didn’t come until there was 1.9 seconds left in the first quarter, allowing James to break out a mini celebration by bobbing his head while bringing a smile to the face of the Lakers forward in his first game since March 20.
James figured to be rusty after missing the last 20 games with a high right ankle sprain suffered against Atlanta when Hawks forward Solomon Hill collided with him on March 20.
James had been out for 41 days, but he and the Lakers declared him fit and ready for action Friday night against the Kings at Staples Center.
He finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
1. James’ first shot of the game was a three-pointer that hit the front of the rim, but he got the offensive rebound and was fouled, making one of two free throws in the first quarter.
Showing just how much his timing was off, James threw a no-look pass to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that went out of bounds for a turnover.
James scored his first basketball while being fouled late in the first quarter, but he missed the free throw.
He scored his second basket on a hook shot and his third on a spin move.
By the half, James had nine points, three rebounds and three assists.
2. Anthony Davis had a strong game for the Lakers again.
Davis finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, tying his season high.
3. When Andre Drummond signed with the Lakers as a free agent to be their starting center, James was already out with his injury. So, with James back and playing with Drummond for the first time, many wondered how the two would mesh.
James’ first assist of the game was to Drummond, who scored in the low post.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel had said before the game that James and Drummond would figure things out.
“We’ve talked at length about just making sure we’re having the appropriate spacing and what not, in terms of how we’re going to play,” Vogel said. “We’re on the same page with that. But the on-the-court stuff, the chemistry, is going to be imperfect with this few games with those guys being together going into the playoffs. But, again, this is just the nature of the situation that we’re in with these injuries and trying to overcome them midseason and we just got to compete through it.”
4. How the Lakers decide to use James during the final nine regular-season games remains uncertain.
They have four sets of contests on back-to-back days to end the season. Sure, with James having been out for nearly six weeks, the Lakers want to be careful with their superstar.
They have back-to-back games at home Sunday against the Toronto Raptors and Monday against the Denver Nuggets; Thursday at the Clippers and Friday at the Portland Trail Blazers; at home May 11 against the New York Knicks and May 12 against the Houston Rockets; and on the road May 15 at the Indiana Pacers and May 16 at New Orleans in the regular-season finale.
Vogel said there has been “no decision on that yet” on James’ availability for the back-to-back encounters.
5. The Lakers got a boost from reserve center Marc Gasol in the second quarter, when he replaced second-string center Montrezl Harrell.
In seven minutes, Gasol had five points and three rebounds. He made his only three-pointer.
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