The energy was flowing from the Lakers, LeBron James’ teammates placing an imaginary crown on top of his head after he scored nine points on the three shots over 38 seconds in the second quarter.
It was a statement, the game’s all-time leading scorer putting on a show while his future partner, Luka Doncic, watched from the bench in his first appearance in front of Lakers fans in his new home.
The building shook as the Lakers would lead the Golden State Warriors by as many as 26 points in the first half, the team continuing a stretch of basketball where they looked every bit of a possible champion contender.
But energy is funny — it doesn’t take much for it to shift.
Austin Reaves couldn’t get a jumper to fall. Subs like Moses Moody and Pat Spencer, the latter only playing because the Warriors decimated their depth in a deal for Jimmy Butler, began to score.
Draymond Green started to jaw and to annoy, shoving Jared Vanderbilt on one possession and dragging Gabe Vincent into the first row on another.
If the Warriors were going to maybe lose the game, they were going to at least try to win the fight.
The Warriors tested the Lakers, cutting that 26-point lead down to five with less than four minutes to go. Stephen Curry, who the Lakers had kept mostly under wraps early as they built their lead, got hot and the game got tight.
But James’ sixth three-pointer — his only one of the second half — gave the Lakers just enough room to survive in a 120-112 win, a game they never trailed and a game they never totally lost their composure.
The cushion the Lakers (30-19) played with largely came from James, who was great most of the game after being nearly perfect in the first half. He would make his first five threes without a single miss on his way to becoming the oldest player ever to score 40 points and grab at least 15 rebounds. He finished with 42 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists.
More help is coming — and soon. Doncic likely will make his debut, Monday against Utah. The team could also get center Mark Williams, who it traded for Wednesday, in time for its game Saturday against Indiana pending physicals.
The Lakers got enough from their supporting cast Thursday, winning for the 10th time in 12 games. While Reaves struggled shooting the ball, missing all nine of his threes, he made 15 of 16 from the line. He also hit a key basket late to help cool the Warriors comeback. He finished with 23 points.
Gabe Vincent added 15, with Curry leading the Warriors (25-26) with 37 points while needing 35 shot attempts.