The Los Angeles Lakers returned to the floor on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs after a heartbreaking defeat to the Dallas Mavericks to begin their road trip.

The Lakers were without LeBron James due to a calf ιnjury in the second game of a back-to-back. That meant that other players had to step up for the Lakers, which they did, leading to a 122-119 triumph.

The Lakers’ game didn’t start well as Anthony Davis twisted his ankle 30 seconds in, but he was able to walk it off and continue in the game. The Lakers received their first taste of rookie wonder Victor Wembanyama when he nailed an early triple for the Spurs, but Rui Hachimura replied with seven straight points, including a 3-pointer of his own. Hachimura started in place of James.

Davis then went to work on the youngster, scoring six points in a row to force Gregg Popovich to call an early timeout with the Lakers ahead 13-8.

Popovich withdrew all five of his starters after the Lakers extended their advantage to eight points. Despite a 5-0 run, Davis (15 points), Hachimura (nine points), and the Lakers were too much for the inexperienced Spurs in the first quarter, leading 34-26.

Austin Reaves ended the first quarter with a buzzer-beаter and then continued the momentum with a three early in the second. Taurean Prince also chipped in to put L.A. up 16.

Davis’ domination continued with a pair of uncommon triples and a slam on Wembanyama, but the youngster answered with a dunk of his own and a block to finish the half, cutting the Lakers’ advantage to 63-50.

Early in the third quarter, Prince and Cam Reddish were shutting down defensively for the Lakers, offering fastbreak chances that Hachimura capitalized on with a slam. Prince also got going offensively, scoring five consecutive times to increase the margin to 19.

To their credit, the Spurs did not give up and continued to try to get back into the game, with Keldon Johnson hitting the basket offensively. However, Reaves and Max Christie scored from long range to cap the third quarter, giving the Lakers a 92-74 advantage heading into the fourth.

With Davis on the bench, the Spurs cut their deficit to 13 before Prince Һit another three-pointer.

The Spurs cut it back to single digits thanks to Wembanyama’s baskets and fouls down low. He then Һit back-to-back 3-pointers before the Lakers made a costly mistake, cutting the score to two points.

From then, Wembanyama was on a mission, taking the ball to the hole and being fouled. But he only made one of two, which proved important with Davis making two of his own at the line. The Spurs were now behind by three points, and Wembanyama was unable to conjure a rabbit out of his hat, allowing the Lakers to win.

Davis topped all scorers with 37 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, and four steals, while Wembanyama finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and six blocks.