Rui Hachimura continued his stellar play in the NBA's Western Conference finals Thursday, but his Los Angeles Lakers were unable to square the series as the Denver Nuggets claimed a 108-103 victory and a 2-0 lead.
Hachimura contributed 21 points, backing up from his 17-point Game 1 performance, on 80 percent from the floor, but Los Angeles' stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis struggled, scoring just 22 and 18 points, respectively, on a combined 13-for-34 shooting at Denver's Ball Arena.
Hachimura did the bulk of his work in the first half, scoring 17 points in 14 minutes on a perfect 7-for-7 and equaled a record for the best shooting half in the last 25 postseasons by a Laker, according to ESPN.
"I am just trying to be aggressive on both ends, especially (against) their bigs," Hachimura said in the post-game press conference.
"The coach has been telling me it will be a big series for me. We lost this game, it was a tough one for sure."
The Nuggets showed great resilience to take the win after being behind by as many as 11 points in the third quarter.
Denver shooting guard Jamal Murray dragged his team to within two games of the NBA finals after struggling early. The Canadian's 23-point fourth-quarter outburst delivered the win.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham called on the defense of Hachimura to try to slow Murray in the fourth, but he was unable to replicate his Game 1 heroics when he effectively defended Denver's two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Jokic had his second triple-double of the series, scoring 23 points, while contributing 17 rebounds and 12 assists.
"They made tough shots, it was their home (court) so they did what they are supposed to do," Hachimura said.
"We go home and we have two games and we have to take care of business. We have to win those games and tie the series."
Lakers will look to even the series on their home court, where Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday.
