The Lakers went without five key players against the best team in the Eastern Conference. It didn't matter. They still won. 

The final score showed them stunning the Brooklyn Nets with a 126-101 road victory, and if it wasn't the Lakers' greatest win of the season, it was certainly their most unexpected.

The Lakers were already without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Marc Gasol, and Wesley Matthews because of injuries. Then Dennis Schröder was ejected early in the third quarter after a verbal exchange with Kyrie Irving, who also was tossed from the game.

But the Lakers shot a scintillating 56% from three-point range and were too strong down low thanks to Andre Drummond. The Lakers' recent acquisition scored 20 points and took 11 rebounds in his second full game since Cleveland bought out his contract.

Drummond played only 22 minutes but was dominant against the Nets' powerless frontcourt. How dominant? According to Stathead Basketball, he joined Bob McAdoo as the only Lakers player ever with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes or less.

"We have a lot of guys in this locker room that are very tough. No matter who's on the other side of that court, they're going to come out and play," Drummond said.

Ben McLemore, another recent Lakers signee, scored all 17 of his points in the second half to help push the lead to 26 near the fourth quarter's midpoint. He made five of 10 three-point shots in his second game since Houston bought out his contract and waived him last week.

Talen Horton-Tucker had 14 points and a career-high 11 assists after returning from a one-game suspension for leaving the bench area during a scuffle against Toronto. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Markieff Morris also scored 14 points.

The short-staffed Lakers played close against Miami two days earlier before losing by six because of a slow fade down the stretch.

There was no such fade Saturday.

The Lakers, not Brooklyn, looked like the NBA's best offense in the second half as the Lakers outscored Brooklyn, 65-43, and made 12 of their 18 three-point shots (66.7%) after halftime. They made a season-high 19 of 34 behind the arc for the game. 

Schröder finished with 19 points for the Lakers, and Irving had 18 for the Nets after their surprising, if not abrupt, ejections with 9:41 left in the third quarter. Schröder theorized after the game that he shouldn't have waved sarcastically to Irving after the All-Star guard was initially the only ejection.

"I don't even know what I did, but I got kicked out, and I apologize for that to my teammates," Schröder said.

The good vibes translated off the court for the Lakers, too. Davis is seven to 10 days from returning to action, according to ESPN. He hasn't played since February 14 because of calf and Achilles' tendon soreness. The Lakers are 12-13 since he was sidelined.