London looms as Devin Harris senses chance to net a timely double

"He understands that he has a huge responsibility and he had a team meeting with the guys and they responded," said the coach.

Shooting-guard Harris is equally determined to seize the opportunity in Toronto. He said: "It's about momentum. It's about making the right plays.

"Things are not going great for us. We lost a lot of games but we knew why and we worked on these things.

"When you win or lose a game it just comes down to a few plays."

Harris admitted his thoughts will turn to the games in London on 4 and 5 March during the 340-mile trip to Toronto.

"We are used to a certain routine so it will be exciting to break that routine in London," he said. "I came over last summer and we had a pre-season game at the O2 in 2008. The fans are great, there's a fabulous arena."

Johnson is convinced his young team — buoyed this week by the signing of LA Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, fiance of Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova — will thrive during the trip.

"We had the chance to go to China and Russia this year and none of these guys had to pay their own way," he said.

"They enjoyed the journeys. They soaked it all in. To see all the international fans who love NBA basketball was pretty cool. I'm looking forward to seeing the guys who haven't been to London experiencing it."

LA Lakers guard Shannon Brown, who together with Vujacic played at the O2 in October, warned that there are potential drawbacks. "It was a long road trip," he said. "Sometimes you wake up in the morning, open the blinds and it's like okay, what's today's date what time do we play, what city am I in?'

"When you are on the road for that long you lose sense of what's going on. We had to adjust after the London game because when you get back it's straight into training. Even though you don't know where you are, you've got to play basketball."

Last night's win will have relieved the strain on Johnson, a Championship winner with San Antonio Spurs as a player in 1999, but he concedes: "Coaches always feel under pressure. It's a short-term business. But it's positive pressure. It's not that we've got to win the Championship today. Sure, we haven't won some of the games but our guys are young and learning and our day is going to come sometime soon.

"I love the pressure. That's what you sign your name for."

If he had any doubts what to work on in order to turn around their season, LA Lakers Kobe Bryant summed it up after Sunday's win in New Jersey.

"They have a lot of players who do the same thing," said the MVP in the past two Finals. "In rebuilding, you have to put pieces of the puzzle together and find pieces that mix and match. You need versatility."

Tickets for NBA's first ever regular season games in Europe are available at www.theo2.co.uk