Morant gets close-up view of Davis' 40-20 game in Lakers' win

LOS ANGELES - Anthony Davis is four games into his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he's already in good company.

Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan, Shaquille O'Neal - and now AD.

Davis had the fourth 40-point, 20-rebound game of his seven-year career and set a franchise record with 26 made free throws as the Lakers rallied in the second half for a convincing 120-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.

Former Crestwood High School standout Ja Morant got a close-up view of Davis' outstanding performance in his first NBA game at Staples Center and against LeBron James.

"Coming into an environment like this we have to play all four quarters," Morant said. "It was (a) wow moment coming in (facing James and Davis), but I was still trying to go out and play my game."

Morant led the Grizzlies with 16 points, and Jonas Valanciunas added 14 points and 11 boards.

Morant, who was the second pick in the June draft, had only three points in the first half before finding his groove in the second.

Davis joined those Laker greats as LA players to get 40 points and 20 rebounds.

"It's an honor to be on that list with those legends but more important is we got the win," said Davis, who was 26 of 27 from the line. "It was a grind in the first half and my teammates trusted me. I just tried to be a monster on the glass."

It is Davis' first 40-20 game since 2016. He's the first Laker to do it since O'Neal in 2003.

Davis played only 31 minutes. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first player to have a 40-20 game in 31 minutes or less since 1954-55. Prior to Davis, the quickest 40-20 game was 33 minutes by Baylor in 1961.

Davis is also the fourth player in league history and first since Michael Jordan in 1987 to make 26 or more free throws.

"This solidifies why we went out and got him. He was big time for us," said LeBron James, who scored 23 points for the Lakers. Los Angeles is off to its first 3-1 start since winning its first eight in 2010.

Davis was questionable two hours before the game due to a right shoulder injury suffered in Sunday's win over Charlotte. He did some dribbling and shooting on the court before being cleared.

Davis said his shoulder was still sore after the game, but he thinks it will improve since the Lakers have a couple days off.

Memphis raced to a 15-2 lead before Los Angeles started to work its way back.