On the first night of the NBA season, it all seemed like such a bad idea.

Russell Westbrook seated at a table just outside the Lakers‘ in the locker room and said his routine was so disrupted coming off the bench in the team’s pre-season final that it caused his hamstrings to tighten.

And while it’s probably not that controversial to think that someone who did something like start out in the NBA developed a fairly strict routine for over 1,000 NBA games, the involvement around the league was Westbrook wasn’t going to do Darvin’ Hams life easier by adopting this option.

Instead, he gave her a hug.

“He does his thing”, the Lakers Anthony Davis said.

But in his second regular season game as the Lakers’ sixth man, Westbrook looked more like himself than at any other point in his tenure with the Lakers.

Westbrook got a key offensive rebound and split the Denver defense, switching hands and scoring to ice a 121-110 victory Sunday night, the first of Ham’s coaching career.

“We had to prove something to ourselves,” Ham said.

After a sleepy start on Sunday night, it was Westbrook who brought the Lakers to life in the first half. And in the second half, it was Westbrook who orchestrated the Lakers’ best run of the season, looking to the sounds and basking in the cheers as they demanded more. The Lakers scored 17 straight points, with the team’s shot finally catching their defense. Matt Ryan, who won the Lakers 15th place in training camp, hit a pair of threes, and Lonnie Walker IV, who has struggled offensively all season, caught fire with Westbrook picking up the pace.

He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists – the Lakers bench leading Denver reserves by 19.

james lebron scored 26 and Davis added 23 and 15 rebounds after missing a game with his ongoing lower back issues. Later Sunday, Davis appeared to aggravate the injury, but he stayed in the game.

Lakers forward Anthony Davis grabs a rebound past Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. during the first half.

(Michael Owen Baker/Associated Press)

Lakers forward LeBron James heads for the basket past Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic during the first half.

(Michael Owen Baker/Associated Press)

After the final buzzer, James and Davis gathered under the basket for a quick celebration of the win.

Davis admitted he was still in quite a bit of pain, but wanted to get through it.

“I’m not going to let that stop me,” he said.

For the Lakers, it was nice to finally live in the present moment – ​​even if, out of confidence, the team took a look back at a piece of its storied past.

Prior to the game, James Worthy held a ceremony to retire George Mikan’s jersey alongside the Hall of Famers who played for the Lakers in Los Angeles. The team also set up individual banners for the five championships won by the franchise before moving to California.

In 439 games with the Minneapolis Lakers, Mikan averaged 23.1 points and 13.4 rebounds, leaving the NBA as its first giant star and with a namesake drill.

Here’s how it works: the player stands and shoots a lay-up with the right hand, catches the ball as it passes through the net and slides to the left side to do the same with the opposite hand.

It’s Basketball 101 and with Mikan retiring his number 99 on Sunday, it was a natural topic of conversation before the game.

Watching the first half on Sunday, I had a feeling the Mikan Drill might just come back in the Lakers’ next practice.

But for the first time this season, the team’s outside shot lifted the Lakers. They hit 13 of 30 from deep, with five players making multiple threes.

The Lakers have also kept the Denver stars relatively quiet, with Nikola Jokic having 23, Jamal Murray scoring 21 and Michael Porter Jr. adding 17, and the Nuggets players are mostly silent.

A lot of things went well – a reminder that the team’s margins are still a bit thin, but as the Lakers moved to seal their first win of the season, Westbrook was fouled and is went to the line.

When his name was announced, the crowd roared – a much-needed moment for the Lakers and Westbrook.

“The way you play, the way you handle is great,” Davis later told Westbrook. “…He really is a guy ready to do anything the team asks.”