SAN ANTONIO _ Deep into another disappointing season, with a roster depleted by nagging injuries and healthy scratches, the Lakers played with the kind of teamwork and efficiency that has been absent for much of the season.
The well-rested Lakers caught the San Antonio Spurs, a model of consistency for decades, playing on the second night of a back-to-back and with the complacency of having locked up a high playoff seed.
For better and worse, the Lakers secured a 102-95 victory over the Spurs on Wednesday at AT&T Center. While the Lakers showed their ability to win despite key injuries, it further damaged their hopes of landing the right Ping-Pong ball combination in May's NBA draft lottery. After securing their third win in the past 13 games, the Lakers (23-55) "trail" the Phoenix Suns (22-56) by one game for the league's second-worst record. So, the Lakers have a 46.9 percent chance of retaining their top-three-protected draft pick instead of 55.8 percent.
So much for the suspicion among Lakers fans on social media that recent developments correlated with the Lakers maximizing the odds of another loss to protect their draft pick.
Beforehand, Lakers coach Luke Walton announced second-year guard D'Angelo Russell would sit out after having apparent soreness in his left knee. But then 22-year-old guard Tyler Ennis posted a team-high 19 points and six assists while going 8 for 14 from the field in 39 minutes.
Walton also put Brandon Ingram on a minutes restriction (knee tendinitis), but the rookie forward scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in only 10 minutes in the first half.
The Lakers still stormed out to a 31-14 first-quarter lead fueled by what marked a season-low for any opponent's production during that period. While the Lakers shot 59 percent from the field, the Spurs shot 27 percent and missed all seven of their 3-point attempts. The Lakers widened that gap to 40-14 with 10:34 left in the first half after going on a season-best 17-0 run.
The Lakers almost coughed up a 26-point lead _ they squandered 19-point advantages against Charlotte (Dec. 20) and Miami (Dec. 22) _ but they hung on with double-digit efforts from Jordan Clarkson (17 points), Larry Nance Jr. (15), Julius Randle (11) and David Nwaba (10).
What else perpetuated suspicions about the Lakers tanking to improve their draft picks odds? After missing the past nine games as a healthy scratch, 37-year-old Metta World Peace played 17 minutes. He scored five points on 2-of-5 shooting. Clarkson also missed the fourth quarter because of a left knee contusion.
