Lakers await return of James and Davis

LeBron James expects to return to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup Friday after testing his injured left ankle before their game against the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

James, who will miss his second straight game Thursday against the Utah Jazz, returned to Los Angeles earlier this week to continue his injury rehab.

The Lakers also are awaiting the return of star power forward Anthony Davis, who is progressing toward consideration before Friday’s game, sources told Wojnarowski. Davis hasn’t played since Feb. 16 because of a sprained midfoot in his right foot.

The returns of James, the NBA’s leading scorer, and Davis would be a big boost for a struggling Los Angeles team clinging to the final postseason spot in the Western Conference before Thursday’s away game at Utah.

The Lakers (31-44) are a half-game ahead of the Spurs (31-45) for 10th place in the West and are a game and a half behind the Pelicans (33-43) for ninth place.

The Lakers used their 32nd different starting lineup of the season in Tuesday night’s loss to the Mavericks, with Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, Dwight Howard, Malik Monk and Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup.

James, 37, is averaging 30.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6,.3 assists in 55 games this season. The four-time league MVP holds a slight edge over Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.9) and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (29.9) for the NBA’s highest scoring average.