Historically, the Los Angeles Lakers don't subscribe to moral victories. The franchise has built its brand on winning. Satisfaction after a loss is blasphemous.

After Saturday's effort against the Dubs, though, the Lakers will absolutely take the moral dub.

Yes, Los Angeles blew a six-point lead in crunch-time and lost to the Golden State Warriors, 117-115. They fell to a season-worst five games below .500. It was their third straight loss, seventh in nine games, and sixth straight on the road.

But this was an objectively encouraging performance considering where the Lakers were a few days ago. They followed up a humbling blowout to the Milwaukee Bucks with an inexcusable defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers amidst trade rumors and inflammatory comments from LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. It was a mess. The Lakers looked like a dead-team-walking.

At the Chase Center, they looked resuscitated. Here's why the Lakers (and their fans) should wake up on Super Bowl Sunday feeling slightly less downtrodden about the state of their team.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7BEKJ8uOsZPkRay9BYms1V?si=e55bfaa982724260

1) The deadline has passed

On Friday, Frank Vogel said the Lakers brought “refreshed” to an offense-only practice, in which the team focused on screening and spacing. He sensed his team was due for a “reset” after nobody was traded.

It showed on Saturday. The offense was, for the first time, effective against a top-ranked defense. More importantly, the Lakers played with ideal wire-to-wire verve, on both ends.

“We had a very spirited practice. Guys were energetic, in good spirits,” Anthony Davis said. “It carried over to tonight.”

The Lakers shot 46.6% and had 25 assists on 41 buckets. They scored 115 points on a team that usually surrenders 103 (granted, Draymond Green is out).

“I just felt like that was as connected as we’ve been in quite a while. It was good to have a good feeling out there,” LeBron said. “I loved our fight, I loved what we brought to the table tonight,” He cited the trade deadline as the primary reason for the newfound spirit.

“Overall, I loved how our guys competed,” Vogel assessed. “There’s a lot of positives tonight … Feel good about our guys’ response to where we were at a few days ago.”

Davis articulated how trade rumors can impact a team, and why the mere fact that the deadline is in the rear-view will help the Lakers get clarity and swagger.

“Anytime your name is mentioned in trades as a player it can weigh on you. Possibly moving to another city. You start thinking, ‘Well the team really doesn't want me.' Things like that. And when that time had passed, this is who we have — the 15 guys in that locker room. It kind of just takes weight off everyone's shoulders. ‘OK, this is what we got. Let's go.' And we kind of did that all year, but we never talk about it, so you don't know what guys are actually going through, what's on their mind through that process. So that's just my personal opinion. But I think when that time had passed, we had practice, we realized, ‘This is our team, nothing's gonna happen, let's do it.' And guys had a little bit more swag today, a little more confidence, more energy. Played with more of a purpose.”

2) Russell Westbrook was good

Mired in the worst slump of his career, Westbrook played his first solid game since Jan 30. He scored 19 points on 13 shots and committed one turnover. There were defensive miscues, but he was active and noticeably working on that end.

“He was really locked into what we were trying to do defensively, and really talking to guys and leading,” Vogel said. “And played with a great competitive spirit, didn’t turn the ball over much, and was efficient offensively.”

Westbrook said the Lakers benefited from “ironing out” how they want to play going forward in practice, and the Warriors game presented a “good start.” The Lakers smartly featured Westbrook in the dunker spot, enabling the action to flow around him.

“I was just trying do whatever is needed for me to better help our team become better,” Westbrook explained. “Simple as that.”

3) They were unlucky

LeBron shot 2-of-15 after halftime, including 1-of-10 in the fourth quarter (though he did set the all-time scoring record). That probably won't again.

“I didn’t make enough plays down the stretch to help our ballclub win,” James said. “I liked some of the looks I had.”

On the flip side, Klay Thompson went into Wet-Fire mode in a vintage performance. He scorched the Lakers for 16 points in the fourth quarter, sending Chase into Oracle-level pandemonium. The Lakers defense wasn't at fault.

One of Klay's biggest triples came when an Avery Bradley deflection ricocheted straight into his hands. Story of the game for the Lakers.

“Man, just one of those nights where a lot of bad bounces didn’t go our way,” Vogel said. “But give credit to those guys: They made five threes down the stretch, big shots, a lot of them guarded…If we just had one or two more plays go our way, we’re talking about a big win.”

Between a plethora of misses around the rim, unrecovered loose balls, tipped rebounds, etc., the Lakers didn't get the breaks they needed to beat a team of Golden State's caliber. Oftentimes, this kind of stuff has plagued the Lakers due to subpar hustle. Not tonight.

“Just some unlucky bounces and misses and things that can change the game, and we could be sitting here talking about a great win we had,” Westbrook added.

 

4) Talen Horton-Tucker Back?

THT had his second consecutive strong game — a profoundly welcome sight. In Portland — without Russ soaking up touches — Horton-Tucker made his case (14 points, seven assists, 4-6 from deep) to the Lakers brass not to trade a 21-year old for a marginal upgrade. In San Francisco, he contributed 17 points (5-9 FG), 7 rebounds, and three assists for a team-best +8 in 30 minutes.

Malik Monk (12 points, 5-9 FG) and especially Austin Reaves (13 points, 5-5 FG) were excellent too, though that's not exactly news.

5) They hung with a contender

It's been impossible for the Lakers to consider themselves contenders when they can't beat others. They have four wins against top-4 seeds: vs. the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 24 (whom they've lost to three times since), vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 29, vs. the Miami Heat in OT (without Jimmy Butler in the second half), and against the Utah Jazz on Jan. 17. For the most part, they've looked wholly unmatched against quality competition.

After the Bucks debacle, LeBron explicitly stated his team isn't capable of reaching contender status.

Everybody sounded more hopeful after battling with the No. 2 seed in the West.

“The trade deadline is over,” LeBron said. “So, a lot of people got an opportunity to move on and know this is what we have and we’re going to be together. Now we make a push.”

“It was a good test for us coming off a tough loss in Portland,” added Davis. “And we were able to fight against a team that’s been rolling. We gotta build off of this. Gain a little momentum going into our last game before All-Star.”

One game — particularly a loss — doesn't fix everything. Issues that have plagued the Lakers reared their ugly heads — free throw shooting, sloppy turnovers (early), Passive AD, boxing out in clutch situations, finishing around the rim, lack of wing athleticism.

Each step forward the Lakers have taken has been followed by two steps back. Every time they have a game worth building on, they collapse instead.

Will this time be any different?