LOS ANGELES — Think the Lakers needed a win? Think they felt the pressure building up around them as the NBA’s only winless team?

They beat the Denver Nuggets, 121-110, and you could sense the tension loosening like air out of a bouncy castle Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

LeBron James ran the show with 26 points, Anthony Davis shook off a sore back to score 23 points and Russell Westbrook looked eminently comfortable coming off the bench for a second consecutive game.

Get this — the Lakers even made their three-point shots. The NBA’s worst shooting team behind the arc connected on 13 off 30 attempts (43.3%) against Denver. The Lakers were a ragged 23.7% from deep before Sunday.

And was that a loud ovation for Westbrook when he checked back into the game near the midpoint of the fourth quarter? Indeed.

The Lakers improved to 1-5. A win hadn’t seemed so big around here in a while.

“It’s good to get this monkey off our back,” Davis said. “Leaving it all out there knowing that tonight was a must-win. Guys came out locked in.”

Davis returned from a one-game absence because of lower-back tightness and left the court briefly in the first quarter. He winced and grimaced throughout the game, most notably on a lay-up after an offensive rebound in the final minutes.

His back was in a “pretty good amount” of pain, Davis said, adding that it “it comes and goes, like these little shocks.”

Westbrook’s new role coming off the bench has given the Lakers a jolt. He had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against Denver.

“We needed all 32 sensational minutes he had. He was big-time,” James said.

“The way he played tonight was incredible,” Davis added. “He flourished in that role. That’s all we can ask for.”

Westbrook even made two three-point shots after shooting only 12.5% from deep through his first four games.

“Whatever is needed for me to help the team win, that’s what I’m willing to do,” Westbrook said of his new role. “I love seeing my teammates flourish, honestly. I get joy by seeing others do great.”

Not to be forgotten, Lonnie Walker IV scored 18 points, including 10 in the third quarter.

Lakers players doused Darvin Ham with bottled water in the locker room to commemorate his first win as a head coach after more than a decade as an NBA assistant.

Ham’s relief was evident while he spoke to reporters after the game.

“I think our guys just got tired of going through the same motions the last four games, five games, whatever,” he said. “We’d be highly competitive [and] fumble the ball.”

There was no fumbling Sunday

Davis started off on the right foot with 11 points in the first quarter and the Lakers led at halftime for the first time this season. Then they unveiled an 18-2 run to end the third quarter with a nice cushion going into the fourth.

The Lakers had experienced a flurry of bad third quarters until Sunday.

“We know we’re the worst third-quarter team in the entire league,” Davis told Spectrum SportsNet. “We managed to get some separation and finish this one.”