LeBron James did not show too many signs of rust Friday night in his return to the Lakers starting lineup after missing eight games with an abdominal strain.
James finished with 23 points off 10-of-16 shooting from the floor, six rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes of action despite the Lakers' 130–108 loss to the Celtics. Los Angeles (8–9) dropped below .500 in the win column and has now lost four of its last five games.
The Lakers led by as many as 14 (32–18) in the first quarter but as has been a common theme throughout this season, they lost the large lead—Boston outscored them 112–76 through the remainder of the game.