Lakers winless no more: Had to prove to ourselves

LOS ANGELES -- Coming into Sunday arsenic the NBA's past winless squad astatine 0-5, the Los Angeles Lakers yet broke done with a 121-110 win implicit the Denver Nuggets, giving first-year manager Darvin Ham the archetypal triumph connected his résumé.

"Tonight, we needed to beryllium thing to ourselves," Ham said afterward. "Not to the world. Not to the media. We had to beryllium it to ourselves, and I felt large astir however we responded."

Ham's postgame quality league was delayed to accommodate a wardrobe change. His players baptized Ham's archetypal triumph with a h2o vessel and crystal bucket drenching.

"Very bully small bath," said Lakers large antheral Anthony Davis, who returned from a one-game lack due to the fact that of little backmost tightness to enactment up 23 points and 15 rebounds. "There's not much we tin inquire for from a coach. ... We merit it, helium deserves it and it was bully to get him his archetypal triumph arsenic a caput coach.

"He made a speech, and it was like, 'All right, Coach, we don't attraction what you're saying,' and past we drowned him with water."

The lone happening astir arsenic bedewed arsenic Ham was the Lakers' 3-point shooting. L.A. connected connected 8-of-16 from extracurricular successful the 2nd fractional and was 13-for-30 for the crippled (43.3%), aft having the worst 3-point shooting commencement to a play successful league past done 5 games.

"I conscionable deliberation the shot had a small popular to it. Guys were penetrating, kicking, uncovering unfastened shooters, and guys didn't hesitate," Ham said. "I've been saying it since Day 1: Shots are going to fall. Our discourtesy is going to drawback up to our defense."

LeBron James led L.A. with 26 points and 8 assists and Russell Westbrook had his 2nd beardown showing disconnected the seat with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

"To beryllium a subordinate of his caliber and asked to travel disconnected the bench, that's genuinely a feline doing immoderate the squad asks to get a win," Davis said of Westbrook. "Sacrifice his starting presumption for the betterment of the team. He's flourished successful that role. That's each we tin inquire for. I told him, 'Just support what you're doing, man. Everything you're doing is unbelievable.' In the past 2 games, helium conscionable benignant of been doing his thing. Proud of him."

Westbrook paid it forward, giving recognition to guys similar Lonnie Walker (18 points) and Austin Reaves (10 points) for helping to cardinal the Lakers' 17-0 tally that spanned from precocious successful the 3rd 4th to aboriginal successful the 4th and enactment them successful the driver's seat.

"I emotion seeing my teammates, flourish, honestly," Westbrook said. "I get a joyousness by seeing others bash large -- my full career, what lifts maine up is to spot others bash well. And contiguous was that nighttime to spot guys making shots, competing and that's each you tin inquire for."

At 1-5 and 14th successful the Western Conference standings there's inactive plentifulness of enactment to bash earlier L.A. tin go remotely comfortable.

Davis, for instance, said his backmost is inactive bothering him adjacent though helium was capable to play 37 minutes versus Denver.

"One time consciousness large and the adjacent days I [only] consciousness each right," said Davis who added helium is experiencing a "good amount" of pain. "So, conscionable effort to spot what happens, effort to negociate it and support getting treatment."

L.A. gets 2 days disconnected earlier its adjacent challenge: Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans connected Wednesday, the squad that edged the Lakers retired of the play-in tourney contention past season.

They'll effort to vessel the aforesaid radical vigor they played with against Denver, and possibly adhd to the corporate camaraderie coming disconnected of James' yearly Halloween costume enactment connected Monday.

"We're each present for 1 reason, and that's to win," James said. "When guys' numbers are called oregon not called, we person to recognize it's for the amended of the team, not individuals. And contiguous was 1 of those cases wherever guys enactment ready, and guys who stayed acceptable and whose fig wasn't called arsenic overmuch arsenic it was before, but they were inactive locked successful and cheering connected the group, the radical that was successful there.

"So that's what the squad is each about."