On the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers were hoping to pick up 5th straight win on Saturday over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Lakers, who came in at 8-4, hit the road for this one in a high-stakes matchup to keep their place near the top of the standings. After a hard-fought, close game until the final buzzer, the Lakers managed to eke out a three-point win (104-99) thanks to the late-game heroics of LeBron James.

In 35:26 minutes on the floor, James put on another masterpiece with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists on 42.1% shooting. Anthony Davis led the team in scoring with 31 points (12-20 FG), 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 33:06 minutes. Rookie Dalton Knecht had the best game of his young career with 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals on 5-10 shooting from three.

Brandon Ingram led the way for the Pelicans, who were without Zion Williamson due to a left hamstring strain. He dropped 32 points (11-23 FG), 8 assists, and 4 rebounds in 31:43 minutes. Jaylen Nowell scored 16 points off the bench to go along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists on 33.3% shooting.

For a regular-season game in November, it was a pretty tough showdown between two Western Conference competitors but there was a sense that both teams were fighting for something more tonight as they put everything on the line. In the end, however, the Lakers were able to keep their streak alive thanks to several key factors that may suggest that the Lakers may have found a winning formula.

LeBron James Is Still The Closer

LeBron James has been on an absolute tear in his 22nd season. After stringing together four straight triple-doubles, James finished this game with another 21-point performance, including 11 in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach in the closing minutes. His best moment came with just under two minutes on the clock when LeBron knocked in a three off a pass from Austin Reaves.

James had been struggling all night with his shot and he was headed toward his worst shooting performance of the season. Despite that, he maintained his aggressiveness until the very end and it paid off when he caught fire in the fourth and powered the Lakers to their 9th win of the season.

Since his arrival, LeBron has always sled the Lakers late in games not only because of his scoring ability but also because of his superior court vision which excelled at finding the best shot. But at 39 years old, nobody expected LeBron to still be single-handedly deciding games like this and it’s truly a marvelous sight to behold.

New Starting Lineup Is Effective

It’s no secret that JJ Redick has been experimenting with his lineups lately, starting with the demotion of D’Angelo Russell to the bench in place of Cam Reddish and Austin Reaves. But after Reddish went scoreless against the Spurs on Friday, it pushed Redick to make his latest change: Dalton Knecht as the starting small forward.

At just 6’6″, Knecht is a bit undersized for the position but his speed and shooting ability allowed him to excel tonight with a career-high 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists on 5-10 shooting from three. Max Christie, who made his first start, slid in beside Austin Reaves in the backcourt and he made his presence felt on the defensive end.

And it’s on the defensive end where the Lakers excelled tonight. The new rotation kept the Pelicans at 42.2% shooting and 37.9% shooting from three. They held the Pelicans to 99 points and every starter but Brandon Ingram under 13 points. When Rui Hachimura returns, it will be interesting to see how JJ Redick adjusts the rotation but the small-ball strategy is working surprisingly well right now and he might want to lean into that while he can.

Dwindling Minutes For D’Angelo Russell

One thing that JJ Redick has made clear since taking over as the coach is that he will prioritize players who play the hardest on the court. Guys like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Dalton Knecht have all become favorites of coach Redick for their work ethic and it’s why the Lakers are playing with more purpose than ever before.

Tonight, D’Angelo Russell got his lowest time yet: just 20:51 minutes on the court, fewer than Dalton Knecht, Max Christie, and even Gabe Vincent. No matter how much D’Angelo has committed to playing harder, his careless attitude and demeanor on the court just never quite go away and it’s cost him minutes in each of his previous NBA stops.

Under Darvin Ham, Russell was getting away with his “aloof” attitude on the court but Redick expects total buy-in from everyone and he will not stand for anything but maximum effort.

At 9-4 heading into the final weeks of November, the Lakers are in a pretty good position overall and better than they expected. Thanks to the unexpected rise of several young players, like Dalton Knecht and Max Christie, the Lakers are seemingly back to being a major player in the Western Conference.

And while it’s still too early to draw any conclusions on this season, we can confidently say that this Lakers team is not the same one we saw a year ago. While it may be mostly the same roster, their changed attitude, approach, and game plan make them almost an entirely different squad. The only question now is, are they good enough to potentially bring back another title?

The Lakers won’t have long to celebrate this victory before their next game. It’s against the Orlando Magic at the Crypto.com arena at 10:30 PM EST. The Lakers stay at home against the Nuggets on Saturday, November 23rd, before heading to Phoenix for a matchup against Kevin Durant and the Suns.