It was almost 4 a.m. Wednesday when the Lakers arrived at their hotel, their last two losses exposing some of the worst internal fears of the team. The way they had played in the second half of losses to Denver and Phoenix had players wondering whether all the work the team had put in over the last two months had been worth it and all the effort and time spent trying to change had mattered.

After three straight losses, the Lakers got back in the victory column on Wednesday thanks to some outstanding defense against the Spurs.