The Spurs claimed a gripping encounter in Los Angeles 143-142 to frustrate the Lakers.
Los Angeles have now lost all three of their opening games to the season, with LeBron James stealing much of the headlines.
James was again the focal point of the game but it was Mills and the Spurs who won it thanks to a well-built move that led to a two-pointer with seconds remaining.
James had already got the home crowd riled up with a stunning three-pointer of his own.
And Mills explained the Spurs’ masterplan was always to nullify the excitable home crowd.
Asked if killing the atmosphere around LeBron James’ fanfare was the aim, he said: “Definitely. The crowd get into this game, obviously with who is playing.
“But when the crowd get into it, it lifts their spirits.
“So far us to try and control the game, the tempo, try to limit their amount of threes.
“It was going to be hard for us but it was a gutsy win.”
Asked about the final play that won the game, he added: “It was a play that we’ve run over and over again. A new team, new players and we executed it pretty well.”
The Spurs are now 2-1 for the season and play the Pacers on Thursday before a rematch with the Lakers over the weekend.
And Mills was delighted with how his side reacted to Sunday’s 121-108 defeat to the Trail Blazers.
“A great game, a great test of character,” he said.
“We’ve had two test of character wins where we could have folded and given away, but we’ve got a really good group of guys here who really want to win. And that happened tonight – it was really tough.”
He then added: “It was a test of character, a team win. Everyone was involved and made the big plays when they needed to.
“Hats off to how well we’ve come together at such an early time.
“Everyone wants to do well for the team and so stuff to make the team go forward. A gutsy win and obviously a lot of mistakes defensively.
“We’ll keep going forward and build on this. You can’t teach the grip this team is showing that we have.”