It was one of those sublime couple of hours where a good team lives up to its potential.

The Lakers spent two months not doing that. They would have a good quarter. Maybe a good half. But rarely more than that. Yeah, they beat the Houston Rockets by 40 in Game 5 of the second round, but no one was convinced the Rockets were very good, and few of us think that even now.

The Denver Nuggets, though … they got the attention of a lot of people. Even the Lakers, as it turned out. And in Game 6 tonight, with a chance to close out the series,  the Lakers dispatched the Nuggets. With extreme prejudice. With consummate skill.

If you are a Lakers fan, it was a pleasure to watch. It was as close to a perfect game as you can hope for against a quality opponent. Where everything clicks. Think “Raiders 38, Redskins 9” in the Super Bowl. Think “UCLA 89, Arkansas 78” in the NCAA finals in 1995.

The Lakers were so good that by the end of the second quarter, you could feel the Nuggets wilting, right through the television screen. Like they knew, already, that they wouldn’t win, couldn’t win, and by the third quarter the Nuggets’ spirit clearly had been broken, and it was just a matter of playing out the string.

The Lakers played a complete game. Not only did they score at will, breaking down the Nuggets with great decision-making and outstanding shooting, they were aggressive and thorough on the defensive end, as well.

If you haven’t looked at the box, a few pertinent statistics.

Field-goal shooting: Lakers 43-for-75 (57.3 percent); Nuggets 32-for-73 (43.8 percent).

Three-point shooting: Lakers 9-16 (56.3), Nuggets 8-19 (42.1).

Free-throw shooting: Lakers 24-24 (100), Nuggets 20-25 (80).

Rebounds: Lakers 38, Nuggets 27.  Assists: Lakers 28,  Nuggets 14.

And the Lakers were even better than the numbers would suggest. Crisp. Decisive. Focused. Merciless.

It also was the first game since the regular season in which the Lakers looked like a championship team. They went into the home arena of a good team and destroyed it. Trashed it.

So, what now?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that I had given up on this Lakers team. That was back during the Houston series when they lost twice to the Rockets after Yao Ming went down. It seemed as if the Lakers couldn’t possibly elevate their game sufficiently to beat a good team in a best-of-seven.

Well, that was then. And we were reminded that you don’t gain style points for rolling right through a series. And that a team might even be better off addressing some issues in the playoffs, working through them and coming together when the games begin to mean even more.

So, yes, I’m back to believing the Lakers could win a championship. Though I still believe they rate as slight underdogs to the deep and talented Orlando Magic (who beat the Lakers twice in the regular season) or the Cleveland Cavaliers, who (if they make the Finals) will be showing up on a high, having just won the final three games of their series with the Magic.

These Lakers have some advantages they didn’t have last year.

–They played in the Finals a year ago and their core players known what it’s about. A year ago, it was Kobe and Derek Fisher, and that’s all.  Everyone else was a Finals newbie.

–Neither Orlando nor Cleveland is as formidable as were the Boston Celtics a year ago.

–They could have home-court advantage, if Orlando wins the East.

I’m not going to make a prediction on the Finals until I see how the East ends. But I now believe the Lakers have a chance, a very good chance, to win their fourth championship of the decade.