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

The way they played in the second half of losses to Denver and Phoenix left players wondering if all the work the team had put in over the last two months had been worth it – if all the effort and the time invested in trying to make a change wasn’t worth it.

When Denver exceeded the known pressure points, the Lakers collapsed. When the offense stalled and things got tight in Phoenix, they gave up.

Her body language said what no one dared to murmur in public: “Here we go again.”

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

Full of energy, partly from a new starting lineup, partly from a new chance to win again, the Lakers played one of their most consistent games of the season on both sides of the court with a 119-101 win against the Spurs.

Read more: The Lakers want to strengthen their defense by returning to physical play

“I’m very proud of our group,” Redick said. “The response was great. And it’s funny because it’s literally what I talked to them about before the game. You just have to let go of the past. You have to let go of the recent past and move on to the next thing. And as they have done several times before, they responded.”

Redick brought freshman Dalton Knecht back into the starting lineup and Cam Reddish to the bench, and the group responded with a win in each of the four quarters.

Defensively, they caused chaos, dictating the game with their physicality and forcing Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama off the pitch.

On offense, the ball was banging, the baskets almost always came as a result of crisp passes, and the Lakers regained the spirit that had evaporated during their three-game losing streak.

“We win games when we do this,” D’Angelo Russell said of the Lakers’ passing game, which produced 31 assists.

When the Lakers have had 27 or more assists this season, they are 9-1. If they are below this number, it is 2-6.

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. Russell had one of the best games of his season, scoring 17 goals off the bench. Max Christie added 12.

In particular, Davis’ passing game energized the team and neutralized San Antonio’s defense.

“We’re just trying to look good, manage our offense and live with the results,” Davis said. “And got guys involved in actions that we thought would give us an advantage. We’re able to get some lobs, some pocket passes and some open threes. But we just stuck with it.”

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

More importantly, however, the Lakers found reason to believe that this version of themselves can be the person they want moving forward – and not the shaky version from the previous three games, which featured heartbreaking breakdowns in one way or another went hand in hand.

“We came out with power and intensity,” Christie said. “Yeah, I don’t think we’ve really slowed down. I thought we did a really good job.”

Subscribe to our weekly Lakers newsletter.

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.