LOS ANGELES — Maybe Anthony Davis should play with a sore shooting shoulder more often.
With his right shoulder wrapped in kinesio tape the Los Angeles Lakers newest star big man had a breakout performance with 40 points and 20 rebounds in a 120-91 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Davis set a Lakers franchise record for free throws made in a game, going 26-for-27 from the line, as he broke teammate Dwight Howard’s mark (25-for-39) set in 2013.
L.A. trailed the Grizzlies by 13 in the first quarter before Davis took control in the third, single-handedly matching Memphis in scoring 20-20. Davis went 18-for-18 from the line in the third, when the Lakers outscored the Grizzlies by 19.
Davis added two blocks and two assists in 31 minutes, sitting the entire fourth quarter as LeBron James, also on the bench by then, led the Staples Center crowd in a “Taco Tuesday!” chant.
Davis became the first Laker with a 40-point, 20-rebound game since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003.
He also joined O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the third Lakers player with 100 points, 10 blocks and 10 assists through his first four games with the franchise (since blocks became an official statistic in 1973-74).
The Lakers are now 3-1, their best start to a season since beginning things 8-0 in 2010-11.