EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — LeBron James was back, and so were the Los Angeles Lakers.

The soon-to-be 40-year-old returned from a two-game absence and helped ignite the Lakers to a 116-110 victory Sunday over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The bigger igniter, being honest up front, was center Anthony Davis, who posted a dominant 40 points as the Lakers stayed above .500 despite almost losing a 23-point lead.

It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing game as the teams committed 58 fouls and turned over the ball 45 times. No, you won’t see much of it in any end-of-year video compilations, not that the Lakers cared with a brutal stretch of the schedule looming the rest of the month. A win is a win is a win.

“I feel like the game was almost four hours long to be honest with you, with all the stoppages and fouls,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves told Spectrum SportsNet.

Reaves was emblematic of the rough-and-tumble night, granting the interview despite a cut on his lip after taking an elbow from Memphis center Zach Edey in the fourth quarter. Reaves stayed in the game and finished with 19 points and eight assists.

The main headline was James returning from a nine-day absence because of personal reasons. Not even three minutes had elapsed when he dribbled toward the basket and, finding scant resistance, elevated for a thunderous dunk. He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 34 minutes.

“I felt pretty good. 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 over the past week,” James said. “It was a very easy decision for myself and for the team.”

James was back, but there were tense moments for LA fans when Davis left the game halfway through the third quarter.

He was fighting off Memphis center Jaren Jackson Jr. for a loose ball and gripped his left shoulder before falling down by the sideline. He attempted to stay in the game but instead walked slowly to the locker room with athletic trainers flanking him.

He checked back into the game a few minutes into the fourth quarter and seemed perfectly healthy, adding 12 points. He later joked that he needed to leave the game because he had four fouls. His shoulder was fine.

“It’s a little stinger. Went in the back [to the locker room] and got some work done,” Davis said.

It was an impressive win against the Western Conference’s second-place team. Memphis owns the NBA’s highest-scoring offense but was held 13 points below its average after the Lakers dominated the first half and took a 64-46 edge into the locker room.

Jackson Jr. had 25 points before fouling out for the Grizzles (18-9), who had won 10 of 11 coming into Sunday’s game. All-Star guard Ja Morant scored 20 points but made only six of 21 shots.

The Lakers (14-12) needed the win if, for no other reason, their brutal schedule the rest of the month, including three games against Sacramento, a road game at Golden State on Christmas and a home date against the East’s top team, Cleveland, on New Year’s Eve.