On Monday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their sixth straight win with a narrow road victory over the Houston Rockets. It was another strong defensive performance for the Lakers, who have started to turn things around in that department after criticism earlier in the season.

Prior to the Houston win, the Lakers picked up a victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, and in that game, LeBron James made an epic play when he dove to the floor after a loose ball to help save a possession for Los Angeles.

Now, James has taken to his Instagram story to show off the ugly burn that he got from the Crypto.com Arena hardwood when he made the diving play.

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James sure didn't seem to be bothered by the burn on Monday in Houston, throwing down multiple monster dunks, and also making some strong plays on the defensive side of the ball to help Los Angeles earn the win.

The Lakers are creating distance between themselves and the field for the third spot in the Western Conference, behind only the Oklahoma City and San Antonio Spurs, the only two teams in the NBA who have crossed the 50-win threshold up to this point.

Defense was long viewed by skeptics as a reason not to take the Lakers seriously as championship contenders this year, but Los Angeles is starting to make some inroads in that department, thanks to both JJ Redick's strategy of getting Los Angeles' weaker defenders off the ball as much as possible, as well as a marked improvement in effort and communication over the last couple of weeks amid the winning streak.

The Lakers will next take the floor on Wednesday night, once again in Houston for a rematch against the Rockets.