But then, another flicker of joy: The Knicks left with a 119-112 victory that they described as cathartic, even if the Lakers were without LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo, all sidelined with injuries.

At this point, the Knicks care little for such technicalities. James L. Dolan, the team owner, was in town for the game and visited the locker room afterward to congratulate the team.

“When we win, we celebrate like it’s the Super Bowl,” Fizdale said. “Why not?”

The Knicks were right to savor the win: Who knows when the next one will come? They still need to visit the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors before returning to New York on Friday, and one game will neither change the trajectory of their season nor mask their daily challenges.

But it was important in its own way.

“We’ll try to run with the momentum,” Tim Hardaway Jr. said.

The Knicks have an odd roster made up of veterans on expiring contracts and inexperienced players who are still learning the business of pro basketball. And that mix, which is almost a 50-50 split, has caused some problems, Fizdale said, not among players in the locker room — “They like each other,” he said — but in terms of the team’s on-court chemistry.

Before the Knicks arrived in Los Angeles, the first half of their road trip featured a 16-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, a 32-point loss to the Utah Jazz and a 7-point loss to the Denver Nuggets.