The bigger picture required the Lakers to be smart; The little picture required the Lakers to play a little harder on Thursday night.

Anthony Davis, who missed most of the Lakers game on Christmas, needed the evening off because of lingering pain in his sprained left ankle. Gabe Vincent needed more time to recover from an oblique strain.

Removing key pieces, especially a figure as crucial as Davis, highlighted what Doc Rivers, JJ Redick’s former coach, used to say: It’s hard to win every game in the NBA.

The Lakers needed a big night from someone they can count on and a career night from someone they’re just getting started.

Read more: Hernández: The Lakers are going all-in on Austin Reaves and will find out if he can become an All-Star

LeBron James and Max Christie combined for 66 points, with Christie finishing with a career-best 28 in the Lakers’ 114-106 victory over the Trail Blazers.

“Tonight was a career night for me,” Christie said, “so I want to stick with it and try to repeat as much as I can.”

James made a season-high seven three-pointers, needing just ten attempts. The Lakers (19-14) fought through a rocky fourth quarter en route to 38 points. And Christie, solidifying his spot as the team’s shooting guard, hit five 3-pointers and cut the ball aggressively while Portland’s defense focused on James and Austin Reaves.

“He puts in a lot of work and it’s paying off for him and we have coaches who believe in him,” James said of Christie. “We believe in him and he was spectacular on both ends of the floor tonight.”

James turned 40 this week. Christie doesn’t turn 22 until February. On a night like Thursday, when Davis was resting, the Lakers needed James to have a big game.

“AD is our No. 1 and No. 2 option,” James said. “And if he fails, we all have to do our best, including me.”

James’ 38-point game tied him with Michael Jordan for the most 30-point games in NBA history. It was also the third highest score ever by a player after turning 40 (after two Jordan games). James also became the second-oldest player to ever make seven three-pointers in a game (Vince Carter did it when he was 42).

“We want him to be aggressive and ready to shoot for threes, just as we want him to be aggressive to drive downhill and put pressure on the rim,” Redick said of James. “He’s just fantastic. … A few possessions that looked like they were dead possessions, and he just saved us. Just another 38 point game for LeBron.”

The Lakers were less hectic about Christie’s career night. Redick said Christie’s defensive play was flawed early on, and a few missed mid-range jumpers caused him to “wring his neck.”

But as has been the norm since the Lakers put him in the starting lineup on Dec. 8, Christie overcame the adversity and learned from it. He made five three-pointers, a career high, but it was a change in defense that really helped him find a rhythm, Redick said.

“You have to learn to be a professional. And what I mean by that is you have to learn to do the same things every night until you’re reliable and the coach can’t take you off the field,” Redick said. “And that’s where the growth that I’ve seen in Max over the last six to eight weeks has been.”

For most of the evening, if it wasn’t James or Christie scoring, no one was.

The pair gave the Lakers a 15-point lead against one of the West’s worst teams, with the Lakers’ defense finding its footing in the second and third quarters.

But the Trail Blazers’ younger, more athletic legs and their longer, stronger arms put the Lakers in tough situations.

Reaves was pressured to shoot just five for 15 from the field for the first time since the Lakers gave him full control. He still managed to finish with 11 assists, eight rebounds and 15 points.

Anfernee Simons led Portland (11-22) with 23 points.

The Lakers host Atlanta on Friday night before playing key road games against Houston and Dallas, two teams currently ahead of them in the Western Conference.

Read more: Hernández: The Lakers are going all-in on Austin Reaves and will find out if he can become an All-Star

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.