It was almost 4 a.m. Wednesday when the Lakers arrived at their hotel in the San Antonio area. Their last two losses exposed some of the team’s worst internal fears.

The way they had played in the second half of the losses to Denver and Phoenix left players wondering if all the work the team had put in over the past two months had been worth it; mattered.

When Denver imposed the familiar pressure points, the Lakers collapsed. When the offense went cold and the rims got tight in Phoenix, they folded.

Their body language said what no one dared to mutter publicly: “Here we go again.”

But when the Lakers took the floor Wednesday night, they took on the persona of their head coach, JJ Redick, who said before the game, “I don’t think I’ve ever dwelled on the past.”

Bolstered, partly by a new starting five, and partly by another chance to win again, the Lakers played one of their most consistent games of the season on both ends of the court in a 119-101 victory against the Spurs.

Read more: Lakers are looking to ramp up defense by returning to physical play

Redick moved rookie Dalton Knecht back to the starting five, moving Cam Reddish to the bench, and the group responded by winning each of the four quarters.

Defensively, they caused chaos and dictated play with their physicality, pushing Spurs phenomenon Victor Wembanyama out of the picture. Offensively, the ball was popping, baskets almost always came on crisp passing, and the Lakers recaptured the atmosphere that had evaporated during their three-game losing streak.

Knecht led seven players in double figures with 20 points, LeBron James had his sixth triple-double and Anthony Davis had 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. D’Angelo Russell had one of the best games of his season, scoring seventeen off the bench. Max Christie added twelve.

The Lakers’ NBA Cup chances are still alive, but they need a win against Oklahoma City on Friday (while they need the Spurs to upset the Suns).

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.