LOS ANGELES — LeBron James was back in the Lakers’ lineup for Sunday’s home game against the Memphis Grizzlies after a two-game absence and he said after the 116-110 win that he needed to be convinced to take time away from the team to address his sore left foot last week. “If it was up to just me, I probably would’ve played,” said James, who turns 40 later this month. “It would’ve been hard to keep me away from it. I have a team and I got to listen to them as well. They look out for my best interest.” James, who had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 34 minutes on Sunday, had missed Friday’s road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dec. 8 home win against the Portland Trail Blazers, with the team listing him as out because of the foot issue. James didn’t travel with the team to Minneapolis after the team gave him an excused absence, and the four-time league MVP provided some clarity on how he spent his time away after making his return. “A lot of rehabbing, a lot of training still to make sure that I was ready to go tonight,” James said. “Didn’t want to get too much out of shape.” Lakers coach JJ Redick said on Wednesday that James had been away from the team the previous few days because of personal reasons, adding that James was “taking some time.” By failing to advance in the NBA Cup tournament, the Lakers’ schedule had just two games during a 10-day stretch from Dec. 9-18, allowing James to prioritize his health with minimal disruption. By sitting out those two games, James got eight days between games after last playing in the Dec. 6 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. James said he spent most of his time away rehabbing his foot and training to stay in game shape. “It was a very easy decision for myself and for the team and for my trainer to be able to take advantage of those days, just for everything,” James said. “It was great. … I had an opportunity to take more days and get my mind, body and everything where I wanted it to be for tonight. And it worked out.” Redick had hoped just that for his superstar and is in constant contact with James and his longtime athletic trainer, Mike Mancias, about managing James’ workload. “When I talked to him earlier this week, I think I said something along those lines, just hoping that he was getting a good mind and body reset,” Redick said of James before Sunday’s game. “He said he felt like he was.” Redick revealed before Sunday’s game that he and James met on the day of the Portland game to discuss his plan for a break. James entered Dec. 8 as questionable, was upgraded to probable the morning of the matchup against the Blazers before being downgraded to doubtful two hours before the game and eventually was ruled out within an hour before tipoff. James also entered the matchup against the Hawks as questionable because of the left foot ailment before playing in the road game, finishing with 39 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals in a season-high 43 minutes. His absence against the Blazers was his first of the season, ending his goal of playing in all 82 regular-season games after playing in the first 23. “Every player should want to play in every game,” Redick said. “That should be the goal. Within an NBA season, for guys that play heavy minutes, there are times when you need a break. It’s just a reality. “It’s not like these conversations haven’t been happening already. We did, LeBron and I spoke Sunday right after our meeting and walkthrough at the arena. And again, he was already going to take an excused absence. So we had a conversation about Portland, specifically. And I think it was the right for him to try to take that game off, given the foot thing from the previous week and the travel and all that. So it’s just something that we’ll continue to do throughout the season.” Redick said he can appreciate James feeling the need for a few days off. “I played 15 (years) and was emotionally, mentally, physically drained, fried,” Redick said. “I put everything I had into this game. I had nothing left. For guys like him and (Chris Paul), the Tom Brady’s of the world, the Roger Federer’s of the world, it’s hard to comprehend having that level of sustained excellence for so long because of the toll that it takes on all of you, not just your body.” Redick said he will attempt to find opportunities for rest for James without him needing to sit out entire games. “Not necessarily less minutes, but shorter runs so that he’s not getting gassed and then quicker segments on the bench and then he’s back in,” Redick said. James, in his 22nd NBA season, said his left foot soreness remains “an everyday thing” and that it’s not resolved following this brief break. James entered Saturday averaging 23 points (49.5% shooting overall, 35.9% from 3-point range), 9.1 assists and 8 rebounds in 35 minutes per game. NEW STARTER Friday marked the first time since the Nov. 29 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder that James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis were simultaneously available, giving the Lakers an opportunity to start their preferred first unit for the first time in over two weeks. Reaves missed the next five games because of a bruised left pelvis, returning Friday’s loss to the Timberwolves. Third-year wing Max Christie was the fifth starter on Sunday after scoring a season-high 15 points against the Timberwolves and an uptick in his performances over the last month. 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And ideally, we want to have that fifth guy be a complementary piece to the other four guys. “And that complementary piece most likely looks like a point-of-attack defender. A guy that doesn’t need the ball in his hands. He’s gonna play hard, he’s gonna pick up full-court. Could shoot 3s. We’re trying to find some level of consistency for the group. And that fifth guy, if there’s somebody that can sort of find consistency individually, we’d like that spot to remain with the same guy.”