![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2251989364.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note: Read more NBA coverage from The Athletic\u00a0here<\/a>. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n The Los Angeles Lakers have spent much of the season thus far searching for the best version of themselves. There\u2019s been highs and lows. Moments of showing what they\u2019re capable of. And lingering questions of whether they can sustain it.<\/p>\n That pattern showed up again this week. After an ugly road loss to the Sacramento Kings \u2014 one defined by missed 3s, an inability to contain DeMar DeRozan in the midrange and the trio of Malik Monk, Russell Westbrook and Zach LaVine making 14 3s \u2014 the Lakers delivered one of their most complete games to date.<\/p>\n But the biggest story wasn\u2019t the 141-116 final score or the fact that it was their largest win of the season. It was the urgency and focus Los Angeles played with that should serve as the blueprint for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n The Lakers made a season-high 19 3s, led by as many as 32 points and compiled a season-best 36 assists. Luka Don\u010di\u0107 and LeBron James, who both entered the night as game-time decisions, combined for 22 of those assists.<\/p>\n \u201c(It was) one of the best responses we had this year,\u201d said James, who was a rebound shy of a 31-point triple-double. \u201cTo come out with that type of energy and effort on both sides of the floor was good.\u201d<\/p>\n The last time these two teams met at State Farm Arena on Nov. 8, the effort was so bad that head coach JJ Redick\u00a0fumed about his team\u2019s no-show\u00a0at the end of a 122-102 blowout.<\/p>\n JJ Redick entire postgame press conference from Atlanta after Lakers trailed by 30 with two days rest vs shorthanded Hawks team playing on second night of a back-to-back pic.twitter.com\/SZnO1dMRpC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Law Murray \ud83d\udc10 (@LawMurrayTheNU) November 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n This time, the Lakers did not have those regrets. Redick said the Lakers had a pregame meeting that last nearly 10 minutes to get his team in a \u201cgood place\u201d to compete.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the challenge with this group,\u201d Redick said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a constant daily reminder of that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n So that begs the question: if the Lakers have this kind of performance in them, why can\u2019t they do it more consistently? So much of how the Lakers play is driven by their best players. Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s flurry of playmaking and drawing fouls in the second quarter ensured L.A. had a double-digit lead for most of the night.<\/p>\n But it also revealed some of the same issues that have plagued Don\u010di\u0107 all season long. During a 13-0 Hawks run, Don\u010di\u0107 had five turnovers in a six-possession span, adding a technical foul for good measure. He finished the game with seven turnovers, more than the entire Hawks team (six). No player averages more turnovers per game this season than Don\u010di\u0107 (4.6).<\/p>\n \u201cWe went for the kill shot there to start the third and got the big lead,\u201d Redick said. \u201cAnd I mean, you can just see it, second night of a back-to-back. Atlanta\u2019s one of the fastest-paced teams in the league. Kind of ran out of gas, and we were able to resettle ourselves and then ended up with 39 in the fourth quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lakers\u2019 next stretch could define their season. They\u2019ll have five games in seven days. They\u2019ll be at a rest disadvantage against Charlotte, who is coming to visit on Thursday. Then they\u2019ll have to fly to Portland for a weekend back-to-back. On the other side, an eight-game road trip looms. So does the NBA trade deadline.<\/p>\n Players like Jake LaRavia and DeAndre Ayton have embraced a \u201cnext-man-up mentality,\u201d heading into the tough stretch.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone here is a pro, everyone knows their role, and has a job to do every time we step out there on the court,\u201d LaRavia said. \u201cSo kind of just focusing on that and going out and then just doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ayton, who had 17 points and a season-high 18 rebounds on Tuesday, his first game with at least 15 rebounds in nearly two months, acknowledged the Lakers\u2019 82-game schedule leaves little time to linger on mistakes and missed opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cI like that about the NBA,\u201d Ayton said. \u201cYou get another opportunity like tonight to redeem yourself and just get your swag back a little bit and be on to the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n Focus. Commitment. Mentality. Swagger. Maybe even some positive daily affirmation. Whatever it is the Lakers can use this month, they\u2019re going to need it. \u00a0The Lakers will face adversity, but there\u2019s no excuses. Now they have shown a standard that shouldn\u2019t require humiliating beatdowns to respond to.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s probably 27 or 28 teams going through something similar right now,\u201d Redick said. \u201cThis is how the NBA works over 82 games. You know, hopefully we can find that consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Law Murray<\/a>\u00a0is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the NBA, based in Los Angeles. Law joined The Athletic in 2021 as a Clippers beat writer. Prior to joining The Athletic, he was an NBA editor at ESPN, a researcher at NFL Media and a contributor to DrewLeague.com and ClipperBlog. Law is from Philadelphia, Pa., and is a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California. When not playing basketball, Law is probably discussing the next Saturday Night Live episode.\u00a0Follow Law on Twitter\u00a0@LawMurrayTheNU<\/a><\/p>\n