SAN FRANCISCO — It was just a week ago, after the Lakers’ 116-102 loss to the Clippers on Jan. 19 at Intuit Dome, that JJ Redick and LeBron James acknowledged the team’s slim margin for error. But their 118-108 road win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday showed what happens when those margins are just a little bit wider. And a lot of that had to do with the long-awaited return of versatile forward Jarred Vanderbilt, in addition to their role players starring in their roles by doing the little things the Lakers needed. “Our offense is not going to be there every night but we can control our defense every single night,” Anthony Davis said. “Adding the way Max [Christie] is playing and the way Gabe [Vincent] is playing defensively and then adding Vando and even [Dorian Finney-Smith], it helps our defense. “Not saying that kind of widens it a little bit because we still don’t want to get lackadaisical where we’re, ‘Oh, we got room for error,’ and now you’re kind of playing too free, in a sense. So we’re still in that mindset where we still got to be sound defensively and sound offensively.” But those margins being wider allow the Lakers (25-18) to pull out victories like Saturday without feeling the game-to-game stress of having to play “close to perfect basketball”, as James put it after the loss to the Clippers. They can lean on the defensive versatility of Vincent, Christie, Finney-Smith and Vanderbilt, all of whom played a part in Warriors star Steph Curry struggling on Saturday. Curry finished with 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting and nine assists, including going scoreless in the second half and missing all eight shots he took in the final two quarters. Or the extra scoring opportunities that Vanderbilt can create with rebounding and defensive disruption. Vanderbilt finished with two points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists in 12 minutes in his first game in nearly a year after being sidelined since Feb. 1, 2024 because of feet ailments that led to offseason surgery. “Vando was awesome,” Redick said of Vanderbilt. “Did all the things that we need him to do. It looked like the Vando that we know. He was great, and I thought that run that he had in the second half, just his activity, got a couple offensive rebounds. Just, just fantastic stuff from him.” And when the Lakers’ three best players – Davis, LeBron James and Austin Reaves – perform like they have the last two games, including Thursday’s signature home win over the Boston Celtics, those margins are even wider. Davis has averaged 30 points, 10.5 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots over the last two games while James has averaged 22.5 points, 9.5 rebound and nine assists and Reaves has averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 assists. “What I was kind of getting at wasn’t our roster,” Redick said on Saturday. “What I was getting at was the nature of how we play, the nature of how we play through our best players, and the nature of not having necessarily a Steph Curry on our roster that can literally generate 10-12 3s a game. I was getting at the math more than anything. “The last two games, our three best players have played really well and everyone else has starred in their roles. That’s what a great team is – guys starring in their roles. And so for Vando, him starring his role, Gabe starring his role, Max Christie starring his role, Jaxson Hayes starring his role, all those guys. Doe, like that separates us a little bit. That creates a margin for us to become a great team.” The Lakers begin the East Coast portion of their trip on Monday in Charlotte. Vincent is listed as questionable for Monday against the Hornets because of left knee soreness. Rui Hachimura, who missed Saturday’s game because of left calf soreness, is also listed as questionable. Related Articles Lakers | Lakers kick off Grammy trip with win over Warriors Lakers | Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt makes long-awaited return against Warriors Lakers | Swanson: From Kobe Bryant’s death to wildfires, LA unites in times of crisis Lakers | Lakers reinforce on-court standard while Anthony Davis makes desires known Lakers | Alexander: Result was lopsided, but Lakers-Celtics rivalry goes well beyond one game LAKERS AT HORNETS When: Saturday, 4 p.m. PT Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C. TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM