WASHINGTON — A Lakers player walked through the hallway outside the team locker room Thursday night and wondered how he was going to be able to mentally engage in the 48 minutes ahead of him.

He and the team were tired, the team playing for the third time in four nights across the country and facing the NBA’s worst team. It wasn’t going to be easy to be focused, not against the six-win Washington Wizards.

It’s the reality of the NBA, the grind of the schedule and bad opponents able to force teams into their worst habits.

But with Anthony Davis back in Los Angeles beginning treatment on a strained abdominal muscle, LeBron James ensured the Lakers wouldn’t take the night off.

James had 24 points and 11 assists in just 27 minutes, the Lakers easily beating the Wizards 134-96 to hand Washington its 16th consecutive loss.

The Lakers (27-19) led by as many as 42 points as the Wizards (6-41) shot 31.9% from the field. Even without Davis, Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith, the Lakers scored a season-high 78 points in the first half. Seven different Lakers were in double figures, with Rui Hachimura scoring 22 and Shake Milton adding 21 in his best game as a Laker, the Lakers reserves playing the entirety of the fourth quarter with Bronny James getting a huge roar when he scored his second field goal of the season while also getting fouled. Hachimura celebrated the bucket by wrapping LeBron James in a headlock on the Lakers bench.

The game, though, was quickly secondary to good news on Davis, with coach JJ Redick saying the injury isn’t considered serious. Before the game, Davis was selected by Western Conference coaches as an NBA All-Star for the 10th time in his career.

Redick said the Lakers hope Davis returns sometime next week. Jaxson Hayes, starting in his place, scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Finney-Smith, who was dealing with a shoulder contusion, said he hopes to play Saturday night when the Lakers play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.