James and Anthony Davis both say the fatigue of this relentless two-month sprint toward title contention isn't finally too much for a team that altered half of its roster just three months ago. The Lakers insist they're not as tired as they looked for stretches of both games in Denver, when they settled for too many jumpers, ran the court less effectively and lost a fraction of their defensive intensity. I know it’s going to be a tough hill to climb up, but we still have an opportunity to play the best basketball of the series in Game 3.” So that’s the confidence that we should have. Until a team beats you four times, you always have an opportunity to come out of it.

We have an opportunity to go home and play great basketball and hold serve. “This is not the NCAA Tournament,” James said.

But that roll has finally been slowed by Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the respect-hungry Nuggets, whose superior late-game play was the reason they're up 2-0. Los Angeles has been on a prolonged roll ever since the trade deadline, going 27-12 while surging into the playoff picture, winning a play-in game and knocking out two higher-seeded opponents in six games. They've also finally run into an opponent capable of making sure this story doesn't have a completely happy ending.Īfter looking weary and mistake-prone in Denver during their first back-to-back losses in over two months, the Lakers face a must-win Game 3 Saturday. LOS ANGELES - Although the Los Angeles Lakers’ late-season transformation is one of this NBA season’s best stories, LeBron James and his teammates finally appear to be running out of steam in the Western Conference finals.

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