LeBron James is taking each day as it comes, two weeks before he turns 40.

On Sunday, Dec. 15, that meant returning to the Los Angeles Lakers after missing two games over an eight-day period — and talking about how he was coping with his plan to play all 82 games this season deny giving up.

“If it was up to me, I probably would have played,” he told reporters Sunday after the Lakers’ 116-110 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. “It would have been hard to stop me. I have a team and I have to listen to them too. They have my best interests at heart.”

Amid a shooting loss that resulted in 0-for-20 from 3-point range and a sore foot, James took advantage of the team’s failure to advance in the NBA Cup – which it won last year – and during a 10-point Distance only completed two games -day distance.

Related: LeBron James Talks About His Current Shooting Performance: ‘I Just Feel Bad’

“I had the opportunity to take more days and get my mind, my body and everything where I wanted it to be for tonight,” James said. “And it worked.”

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On his time out, he added: “A lot of rehab, a lot more training to make sure I’m ready to go tonight. I didn’t want to get too out of shape.”

That was evident on Sunday with a performance of 18 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks in 34 minutes.

Related: LeBron James and son Bronny make NBA history by playing together for the first time in preseason game

Earlier this month, James spoke about his shootout loss.

“It’s the rhythm. I just felt like I was out of sync in the last three or four games,” James said at the time.

When asked what methods he would use to get his game back on track, the Lakers star replied: “Work. Just work. That’s all.”

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