What was starting to feel like a magical season and turnaround for the Los Angeles Lakers is now in jeopardy after losing Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals 108-103 on Thursday.
Early on, it looked like they were on track to tie the series, as they scored the first nine points of the second quarter and took a nine-point lead over the Denver Nuggets. But they then went cold, missing 10 shots in a row, and saw their lead get whittled down to one point.
Los Angeles responded to boost its lead to five at halftime and 10 in the third before a 10-0 Denver run erased that advantage. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers’ offense fell apart, while the Nuggets got hot from downtown. In particular, Jamal Murray killed L.A. for the second game in a row with 23 second-half points, and it helped out the Nuggets with some poor shot selection and decision-making down the stretch. Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic had another triple-double.
The Lakers now trail the best-of-seven series 2-0. While it isn’t over, especially with the next two games in Southern California, they’re in a serious hole after looking like a gathering storm over the past two or three months.
Anthony Davis: C-plus
There wasn’t much wrong with Davis’ effort in Game 2. He grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked four shots and added one steal, and offensively, he showed decent aggression. However, it simply wasn’t his night.
He went just 4-of-15 from the field, and although he did a solid job of drawing fouls while going 9-of-11 from the free throw line, he mustered only 18 points. It ended a streak of five consecutive games in which he had 23 points while shooting at least 55 percent from the field.
Down the stretch, the Lakers fought back from a 12-point deficit and gave themselves a chance to win by coming to within two with just over a minute left. But Davis was one of the reasons they didn’t get over the hump, as he settled for 3-pointers in crunch time. He was 1-of-3 from that distance on the night, with all three of those attempts coming in the last four minutes.
After five straight good or great outings, perhaps he was simply due for a bad one.
Jarred Vanderbilt: C
Vanderbilt returned to the starting lineup on Thursday, replacing Dennis Schroder, who had started in his place the previous two games. Right from the start, Vanderbilt helped forced a turnover, which led to him getting a breakaway jam for the game’s first points, and he later drew a charging foul on Michael Porter Jr.
Other than that, however, he had a pretty negligible impact on this contest. He finished with just four points and two rebounds in 17 minutes.
LeBron James: B/B-minus
Statistically, James was solid with 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting, 10 assists and nine rebounds. He also made an impact defensively, as he had active hands that led to him getting four steals and two blocked shots. At times, especially in the second half, he guarded Jokic, which allowed Davis to be a help defender on him, and it was at least somewhat effective.
However, James also was a key culprit in this loss. When Denver made its fourth-quarter run, he settled for multiple 3-pointers, allowing it to get easy transition buckets. Overall, James missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
He also blew two gimmie layups, including one on a clear breakaway fast break in which he attempted to throw down a fancy dunk, only to lose the ball out of bounds. Such mental mistakes are inexcusable in a game of this magnitude.
D'Angelo Russell: C-minus
For the second game in a row, Russell did poorly, shooting 3-of-8 overall and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. While he did have five assists, two steals and one block against just one turnover, the Lakers simply cannot afford to have games like this from him on a regular basis or even every two or three contests.
Austin Reaves: A-minus/A
Reaves gave the Lakers a boost early by hitting his first two 3-pointers. He was just 3-of-10 in the first half, but he hit his first two shots of the third quarter, and down the stretch, he once again came on strong while trying to keep his team in the game.
He started L.A.’s comeback attempt with a 3-pointer to cut its deficit to nine. Then, with just over a minute remaining, with James on the other end shaken up after apparently tweaking his foot or ankle, Reaves banked in a trey to bring it to within two.
He finished with 22 points on 8-of-16 overall shooting and 5-of-9 from downtown, and he also added five assists, three rebounds and a steal. He is developing into a serious gamer, especially under pressure, as this was yet another fourth quarter in which he played well during these playoffs.
Rui Hachimura: A+
As he was in Game 1, Hachimura was a major spark plug. He hit his first eight shots and helped slow down Nikola Jokic on the defensive end. He scored 17 points in just 14 minutes in the first half, and he finished with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting while making a 3-pointer and all four of his foul shot attempts.
If the Lakers are to come back and win this series, Hachimura will have to be a major reason why.
Dennis Schroder: C-plus
Back in his familiar bench role, Schroder played some aggressive on-the-ball defense on Denver’s ball-handlers, and he grabbed six rebounds, which is an area he usually doesn’t contribute a lot in. Unfortunately, he was just 2-of-9 from the field and scored just four points.
The Lakers will need more from him offensively to get back into this series.
Lonnie Walker IV: D-plus/C-minus
Walker failed to give the Lakers any real contribution in Game 2. In 13 minutes he shot just 1-of-3 and missed both of his 3-point attempts, giving him just two points, plus one rebound and one assist.
Tristan Thompson: Incomplete
With Lakers head coach Darvin Ham not wanting Davis to pick up his fourth foul, Thompson came into the game for the final possession of the first half. He made no contribution on the stat sheet.
