But the Lakers lost on every other margin, Aaron Gordon owning the glass and Michael Porter Jr. hitting big shot after big shot.

The Lakers, like they have throughout the series, won the first minutes by playing with more energy, more pace and more force. They scored the first eight points — three coming on consecutive dunks — to prove that Murray’s winning shot on a buzzer-beater Monday hadn’t done permanent damage.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the push — the Lakers’ stars looking unstoppable as they attacked the Nuggets’ interior defense.

But just like their series opener, the Lakers’ outside shots kept missing.

Rui Hachimura’s corner three with 5:24 left in the first quarter was the only Lakers’ basket from three until Taurean Prince hit a corner three with eight minutes left in the game.

By then, the Lakers were down double figures and more than 33 minutes of game time vanished. D’Angelo Russell struggled again, going scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in his 24 minutes.

Too many things that “can’t happen” against the Nuggets continued to happen against the Nuggets, like Russell’s struggles.

Austin Reaves missed layups, his legs heavy from chasing Murray. Hachimura, after getting in the action early, completely faded on offense as he tried to limit Gordon and Jokic.

And Russell, a key to the Lakers’ season, spent the final minutes on the bench as coach Darvin Ham searched for an answer.

There was nothing to be found, a climb so dizzying, the ending is all but assured.

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.