The Los Angeles Lakers were a few minutes into a season-defining fourth quarter vs. the Detroit Pistons. Losers of three straight and the first two games of their supposed team-building road trip, they trailed the Pistons by 15 points after three quarters as LeBron James stewed in the locker room.

“We had it in our mind, that we wanted to win this game,” Anthony Davis said. “No matter what the circumstance was, what the score was. We wanted to win this game.”

For the first few minutes after LeBron was ejected for a flagrant-2 foul on Isaiah Stewart — and the ensuing chaotic skirmish — the Lakers played like a dejected and antsy group on the brink of collapse. It felt like frustrations were close to boiling over.

Before the fourth quarter, Carmelo Anthony addressed his teammates and put the perilous moment in perspective.

“Melo said, ‘This is where we figure out who we are as a team',” AD shared.

“He was the one who spoke up, along with others,” Vogel said, amid singing Melo's praises. “To say like, ‘We can't let this turn out to be a loss.' We gotta rally around this. So, credit to him.”

The Lakers dug deep and flipped the script. They showed early signs of life early in the fourth, led by Westbrook and Anthony. Then, with seven minutes remaining and the Lakers down six, Westbrook attacked the lane and turned back the clock for a throwback facial on Hamidou Diallo, who Davis said had been chirping at Russ. It was Westbrook's most impressive and impactful slam of the season (by far). The Lakers bench erupted.

Russ drained a three on the next possession. The Lakers soon took the lead on their way to a gutsy 121-116 victory.

In his postgame remarks, Davis pinpointed Westbrook's slam as the genesis for the Lakers' rally.

“That dunk just got us going. Got (Russ) going. Got his confidence up. That dunk kind of sparked us. … silenced the crowd a little bit. … Hopefully this can spark a little fire under our you-know-what to get going.”

Westbrook finished with 15 points in the fourth quarter and 26/10/9 overall.

“Whenever I get into attack mode and make sure the team follows, it's something that's beneficial for me and the team,” Westbrook said.

Davis (12 points in 4Q) dominated on both ends and ended with a box score (30/10/6/5/4) that only Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon have achieved. Anthony had 18 points, including some huge triples in the fourth.

For as much it can be, this November game against a 4-12 Detroit squad felt like a “must-win,” as Anthony Davis deemed it. Frank Vogel said the Lakers' fourth-quarter rally after LeBron's ejection could prove to be a pivotal turning point.

“To me, it's one of those things that can change the momentum of your season… Played with incredible guts … that's the determination that this team's gonna need…We'll get everybody's best punch every night, so that's how hard we gotta play to get Ws.

“It's a heck of a win for us.”

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The Lakers improved to 1-2 on their East Coast excursion that the Lakers hoped would present healthy challenges for this new group. They certainly passed the test in Detroit.

Should the vibes change around this Lakers team, the Stewart fracas and Westbrook's poster of Diallo and may be viewed as two of the most significant moments of the season.

The Lakers have pulled out some close wins this season, but they haven't always handled adversity well. They've lost their composure multiple times and have been admittedly bothered by the officiating all season (clearly, they've let it get to them). Westbrook's decision-making has cost them games. They surrendered instead of fought, at times.

With our without LeBron, another drama-filled, ugly defeat to a lottery team would mark a new low. Instead, the Lakers recognized the significance of the moment and responded with the appropriate sense of urgency. The outpouring of emotion in the final minute was telling.

“The altercation, it could have done two things,” DeAndre Jordan said. “It could have made us unravel or it could have brought us together and I think it did just that. We were down. We could have easily folded, let go of the rope. But we didn't.”

The next step is playing like that for four quarters.