The Lakers were at a serious crossroads Sunday night at the Crypt, on a four game losing streak and Darvin Ham squarely in the crosshairs for angry Lakers fans and potentially Lakers management as well.

They needed to make a statement, and after a scarily slow start (and with a scary finish) they did, winning 106-103 to quiet the noise... for a night at least. The Lakers welcomed D'Angelo Russell back to the lineup, which provided a boost, giving the Lakers another ballhandler, perimeter presence and shot creator. He took a minute to get going, but after a slow start finished with 13 points and six assists. LeBron James posted a few highlight reel plays en route to 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Anthony Davis had 22/10, and Taurean Prince hit three triples.

The Lakers bench was strong, with Christian Wood continuing his resurgence, and Max Christie providing strong minutes en route to a team leading +10 plus/minus.

But the big thing was the defense, holding the Clippers to under 40% from the floor and playing a very physical style throughout the game.

It wasn't fancy, it was rarely pretty, but they got it done. Ham's seat got a little less hot (at least until Tuesday) and hopefully the Lakers can establish a little momentum over the rest of this home-heavy stretch.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get a critical win over the Clippers.

SEGMENT 2: Getting Russell back makes a big difference.

SEGMENT 3: Darvin's seat gets (slightly) cooler.

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