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On Thursday night, your Los Angeles Lakers stumbled down the stretch of a very winnable playoff game against the Denver Nuggets, and now find themselves in a potentially insurmountable 0-2 hole.

What makes the 108-103 defeat all the more frustrating is the reality that Denver was not turning in its best stuff. The Lakers led, often by double digits, for most of the night, but found themselves unable to contain a sharpshooting Jamal Murray in the fourth quarter of the contest.

Mark Medina of Sportsnaut opines that LA's two future Hall of Famers, All-NBA small forward LeBron James and center Anthony Davis, struggled through uneven nights, and ultimately didn't give the Lakers enough to win.

"Despite his physical limitations and fatigue during the playoffs, James often became effective enough with his shots at the rim, passes and hustle plays," Medina writes. "But James looked out of sorts in Game 2 during the worst possible moments... It would help if Davis could have mitigated some of James’ struggles."

Though their counting stats and defense were respectable, their late-game scoring and ball control left plenty to be desired, and that ultimately proved to be the difference in the defeat.

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