LOS ANGELES — For a moment, Staples Center had hushed, giving Dwight Howard the silent treatment as he shot a free throw, and a fan took advantage. From somewhere in the stands, he gave voice to a sentiment that had permeated the place.

“Kobe, I love you!” he shouted.

There was little drama in the Lakers’ 122-101 win against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, and that afforded the opportunity for a Kobe Bryant love-fest. Multiple Lakers recognized Bryant during the game. The crowd gave him a rousing ovation when he appeared on the video board. And the building was buzzing when, midway through the first quarter, LeBron James used a break in the action to walk to Bryant’s courtside seat and shake his hand.

That midcourt clasp of kings felt significant.

On a night that was a testament to Bryant’s enduring appeal, James provided his most recent reminder that in the here and now, he means everything to the Lakers.

As Bryant and his daughter Gianna watched, James finished with 33 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists and made 6-of-10 3-point shots. James played 33 minutes during which the Lakers outscored the Hawks 99-69. In the 13 minutes he sat, Atlanta had a 32-23 edge. In James’ 18 first-half minutes, Los Angeles outscored Atlanta by 41 points.

It’s not an outlier.

In season No. 17, six weeks from his 35th birthday, James is averaging 25 points and a league-high 11.2 assists per game. He has been the team’s offensive catalyst, and when he steps off the floor, the 11-2 Lakers go from powerhouse to jugger-not.

[ Listen to The Forum Club for more Lakers coverage ]

They score 25.9 fewer points per 100 possessions with James off the floor than on. Their effective field-goal percentage — a number that takes into account the added value of a 3-point shot — plummets by 10 percent in the minutes James sits.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

James entered the season with an upgraded roster and a new superstar running mate in Anthony Davis, and that, in theory, was supposed to lighten James’ workload.

And having Davis has helped. He’s a game-changing defender who has anchored the Lakers at that end with and without James on the floor. He’s shown offensive brilliance in flashes, and even coming off a subpar weekend — he scored a combined 31 points on 10-of-26 shooting in wins against the Kings and Hawks — Davis is averaging 24.5 points per game.

In the minutes Davis and James have played together, the Lakers have looked like the league’s best team.

But even with the added All-Star and the Lakers’ much-discussed commitment to splitting the workload, the team remains disproportionately dependent on James’ offense. When the King sits, the offense lays down, even with Davis on the court.

Lakers per 100

possessions Davis/James on James on Davis on Points scored 112.8 117.9 87.5 Points allowed 98.1 102.8 97.3

“(James) likes to get the ball and keep the pace high,” Davis said. “We tend to slow down a little bit when he’s off the floor. We just got to make sure we keep that pace high and keep running.”

The NBA tracks pace by possessions per 48 minutes, and by that measure, the Lakers actually play faster with James off the court than on. But the eye (and Brow) tests suggest the Lakers are a higher-octane engine with James on the floor. Without him, they are grinding their gears.

None of this — not the second-unit struggles nor the heavy workload — seem to surprise James.

The bench needs time together to find its rhythm, he said Sunday night, and it doesn’t help that Rajon Rondo, the primary playmaker for that unit, is working his way back from a calf injury. Rondo has played three games, and Sunday’s, with 15 points and three assists in 24 minutes, was the best of them.

Once Rondo settles into more consistent playing time, James said, the second-unit offense “will get better and better.”

In the meantime, James is prepared to do the heavy lifting.

Asked in the preseason about the likelihood of sharing more of the load, James said that “It sounds good” in a tone that suggested it was a nice theory but likely wouldn’t be put into practice.

He was “born to have workload,” he said then.

But Bryant’s presence Sunday on the sideline — retired and out of playing shape — was a reminder of basketball mortality. James has used perceived slights, suggestions that his game had fallen off, as motivation this season. It seems to be working.

Kobe Bryant was cheered by the Staples Center crowd Sunday. (Kelvin Kuo \ USA TODAY Sports)

Still, it’s risky to pin so much on a player so deep into his career, even if he’s among the most durable players of his generation.

James is coming off his first significant injury, a strained left groin that cost him 26 games last season, and he spent the offseason, he said Sunday, getting in “the best possible shape, in tiptop shape, both mentally, physically, spiritually.”

For his part, Lakers coach Frank Vogel has managed James’ minutes, down slightly from last season’s career-low 35.2 per game.

“I have a good mindset for balance,” Vogel said. “Obviously the guy’s playing at a level of plus-41 in a half. You know you can use him at your disposal and he’s gonna be effective and he’s gonna dominate the game the way he’s dominating. But we’re still gonna have a big-picture mindset with everything that he’s doing.”

If James plays every game and maintains his current average of 34.7 minutes, he’ll surpass Bryant in career regular-season minutes before Christmas. He’s already played 1,264 more regular-season minutes than Bryant had at the same stage of his career.

That mileage hasn’t slowed James. He’s having an MVP-caliber start to the season, and the Lakers look like a championship contender.

At least when he’s on the court.

“He’s obviously great to have on the floor,” Davis said. “When he (does) have time when he comes out, we got to make sure we keep the same level of intensity on both ends of the floor.”

(Top photo of James: Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images)