When things are going well for a basketball team, they move with ease, with attαck and defense movements that go back and forth with little trouble.

And when the Lakers are having a good run like they are right now, it only lasts for a short time, like paving a quarter mile of a country road every once in a while.

Right now, they have a lot of problems, and LeBron James said that beating the Clippers would not solve all of them. One thing is going very well, though.

Anthony Davis scored 41 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter, to help the Lakers hold on for a 132-131 win over Toronto on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. Davis was playing some of the best basketball of his Lakers career.

Since the tournament final, when he scored 41 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, Davis has averaged 30.3 points and 11.4 rebounds while making 60% of his shots.

James said of Davis, “He was just locked in.” “We knew we were stronger in the middle tonight, so we just tried to Һit him early and often.” Also late. That’s how I felt the whole game.”

The Lakers (19-19) have won back-to-back games for the first time in a month, bringing their record back to.500.

When Toronto didn’t have center Jakob Poetl because he was hurt, the Lakers quickly fed Davis inside. The Raptors didn’t have any good players on hand, so Davis ate up the game. He scored 16 points in the first quarter alone, making it look like his size and strength would be too much.

The Raptors were still excited after trading for OG Anunoby and getting RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley from the New York Knicks. So they started to change how they played defense. In the second, their zone slowed down the Lakers, and in the second and third quarters together, their double teams held Davis to just three shots.

On the other hand, the smaller Raptors spread the Lakers out all over the court. They did this by cutting quickly into the lane and winning the bαttle for points in the paint.

In times of need, the Lakers would go back to Davis and play through him in ways they’ve said they want to do more than they have.

Coach Darvin Ham said, “Guys saw that he was on fire.” “…He got a lot of hits, and guys were interested in him.

Toronto mostly played well—every starter scored at least 10 points—which showed some problems with the Lakers’ defense. Players on the wings, like Austin Reavers and Cam Reddish, made it easier for Davis to get back on defense and help near the basket.

In the end, though, both of the role players made big plays. Reaves, who hadn’t made a three-pointer in a week, Һit a huge one in the fourth, and Reddish made a key stop while getting Һit in the face with an elbow. Quickley was then fouled out of the game.

Reddish left the game after the play and will be looked at more closely.

It was the one thing the Lakers thought they would have learned from beating the Clippers: how to be successful as a defense-first team.

Tuesday, that wasn’t really the case.

Tuesday wasn’t like that,

After the first stop, the teams rarely traded goals for more than a minute, so the game was pretty even. The Lakers scored enough to stay with Toronto. Seven players scored in double figures, and Christian Wood and D’Angelo Russell scored 25 points off the bench together.

At the shot line, Davis made two free throws that put the Lakers up three points. He also made a key block on Scottie Barnes. Barnes Һit a triple on the other end, but the shot was called off because Davis was knocked down by an illegαl screen.

After the game, Toronto’s coach Darko Rajakovic got angry about a 23-2 free-throw deficit in the fourth quarter, during which Davis made all 11 of his shots.

Even though Toronto scored on its last four plays, the Lakers made six free throws in the last 14 seconds to seal the win.

On Thursday, the Lakers play home to the Phoenix Suns. They have a chance to win three straight games for the first time since the tournament.