The Los Angeles Lakers are coming together in the perfect time as the regular season wraps up and it shows not only in their record, but in the way that they're committing to each other and winning on the court. 

The gritty overtime win that the Lakers pulled off against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday exemplifies that mentality more than anything else. Across the board, the Lakers executed in clutch moments and gave everything they had to take down their conference rivals. 

From Marcus Smart's standout performance, to Austin Reaves' intentional free throw miss and Luka Doncic's game-winner, the Lakers proved without a doubt that they have what it takes to come up big in even bigger moments. 

LeBron James had his highlight reel moment as well, but it didn't have anything to do with scoring. 

With less than a minute left and the Lakers trailing by one, the 41-year-old superstar laid out, full extension, to grab a rebound and ended up fighting on the ground for possession that eventually forced a jump ball. 

"I told him after the game, I said, 'In 23 years of watching you play in the NBA and three years I watched you play in high school, I've never seen you make a full-out extension dive like that," Lakers head coach JJ Redick said (via The Sporting Tribune). "It's awesome. I know he'll feel that tomorrow. That's a winning play."

It truly was an uncharacteristic moment of exertion for James, who has not no shortage of show-stopping moments in his two-plus decade long NBA career. But, the sheer grit and self sacrifice that that play exhibited, especially considering his age and injury history, signals a new mindset for this Lakers' team. 

James has dealt with injuries all season, and even if he plays in all of the Lakers' remaining 15 games he would still have missed the most games in a season for him since the 2022-23 season. But any concern about his age or his injuries went out the window in that moment while all he thought about was winning. 

This Lakers team seems more devoted to each other than most rosters in recent years. There's a clear friendship and familial affection that can be felt among the team, especially in it's Big Three of James, Reaves and Doncic. 

There have been meteoric heights to this season for Los Angeles as well as dismal lows, but now as playoffs approach and the Lakers hold on to the third-seed in the Western Conference, there's a grit to this team that hasn't been felt at this extent all season. 

The biggest criticisms given to the Lakers this season has been their lack of defense and lack of physicality. But, with plays like the one James had on Saturday, their dispelling those criticisms one game at a time.