LeBron James Stats Tonight: How did Lakers superstar perform in bounce back game against Magic? (Mar. 24)

After missing seven games due to a groin injury, LeBron James has been on the comeback trail since returning to the LA Lakers lineup this past Saturday against the Chicago Bulls. Though James had a decent outing with 17 points and six rebounds that night, the Lakers found themselves on the wrong end of a 146-115 blowout.

Tonight, James and the rest of the Lakers squad looked to bounce back as they took on the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center. Aside from building momentum heading into the playoffs, the fourth-place Lakers are determined to secure homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason and stave off No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies.

James finished with 24 points (9-for-18 from the field), six rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers lost to the Magic 118-106.

In the first quarter of this game, James scored on two layups that were both set up by Austin Reaves. Meanwhile, all three of James' assists in this quarter have led to buckets for the dynamic guard. "LBJ" finished the opening 12 minutes with four points, one rebound and three assists as the Lakers led the Magic 30-26.

James picked up his scoring in the second quarter, getting more aggressive in his attempts and adding 10 points to his total. The King went 6-for-7 from the free-throw line in this quarter, putting pressure on Orlando's defense that also had to contend with the firepower of James' explosive teammate Luka Doncic. At halftime, James had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists as the Lakers led the Magic 60-58.

He went on to score 10 more points in the second half, but the Lakers' defense was unable to contain the scoring explosions of Franz Wagner (32 points) and Paolo Banchero (30 points). Despite three other Lakers starters putting up double-digit scoring, LA was not able to contend with Orlando's 49.4% shooting clip, going down by 12 points in the final deficit.

LeBron James gives honest admission after return from groin injury: "A little rusty"

Though the Lakers dropped their straight game in the loss to the Magic, James at least had the opportunity to get back into rhythm after his seven-game absence.

Following the Lakers' loss to the Bulls this past weekend, James admitted that he needed to regain his form, particularly with the playoffs around the corner:

"A little rusty, a little rusty, but I was happy to get back out there," James said.

James added that he will take his recovery day by day, as he opts not to "worry about what's gonna happen in the future."