Los Angeles, California - LeBron James made a winning start to his NBA-record 23rd season on Tuesday, returning after a near one-month injury absence in the Los Angeles Lakers' 140-126 victory over the Utah Jazz.

LeBron missed the Lakers' first 14 games of the season with sciatica but was quickly back into his rhythm before finishing with 11 points, 12 assists, and three rebounds.

There was still time for the 40-year-old to bring up another milestone, his two three-pointers taking him past Reggie Miller for sixth place on the NBA's all-time regular season three-pointers list.

Luka Dončić, who led the Lakers scoring with 37 points, welcomed James' return to the line-up.

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"It's been a long time since he played basketball, so I think for the first game back, he looked amazing," Doncic said. "He's gonna keep getting his rhythm, and he's gonna help us a lot."

Doncic was backed with 26 points from Austin Reaves with Deandre Ayton adding 20.

Utah led by 11 points during the second quarter but were blown away in the third as the Lakers poured in 37 points to open up a sizable double-digit lead heading into the final frame.

After the game, a reporter pointed out that some of the players he faced on Tuesday hadn't even been born when he made his NBA debut.

"I can sit back and think about what you just said as far as seven guys not being born when I started this journey," he responded. "And, yeah, that just made my back hurt."