DENVER — LeBron James said the Los Angeles Lakers needed to play a perfect game to beat Denver.

They almost did Monday, but “almost” simply doesn’t matter against the defending champions.

Jamal Murray drained a 16-footer as time expired and the Denver Nuggets overcame a 20-point deficit to stun the Lakers, 101-99, in front of a jubilant, disbelieving crowd in Denver.

It was as dramatic as it was painful for the Lakers, who fell behind in the first-round playoff series, 2-0, though the site shifts to Los Angeles for Thursday’s Game 3. If the Lakers lose that, their season could end Saturday in Game 4 in LA.

The Lakers have now lost 10 consecutive games to Denver, dating to last year’s Western Conference finals, a narrative that could have ended Monday after the Lakers took a 68-48 lead on Austin Reaves’ three-pointer in the third quarter.

But Denver slowly, methodically came back to steal the victory.

Murray made only three of 16 shots in the first three quarters but was unstoppable in the fourth. After LeBron James missed a three-pointer with the score tied at 99-99, Murray became the hero by scoring over Anthony Davis.

“It was a heartbreaking game. You never want to lose in that fashion,” James said.

Davis scored 32 points but took only one shot in the fourth quarter, a missed six-foot pull-up shot with 6:56 to play. He had only one rebound in the fourth quarter.

“We had stretches where we just don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor, and those are the ones that cost us,” Davis said. “We have two days to get it right and come ready to win Game 3 on Thursday.”

It was understandably upsetting for the Lakers because they thoroughly dominated the first half, thanks to Davis and D’Angelo Russell.

Davis made 11 of 12 shots on the way to 24 first-half points and a 59-44 Lakers lead. Russell made six three-pointers and added 18 points before halftime.

It was an important bounce-back game for Russell after he missed eight of nine three-point attempts in Game 1. But, in a refrain that could be said about almost all the Lakers, it wasn’t enough.

James scored 26 points and added 12 assists but missed a potential go-ahead three-point attempt with 16.3 seconds left.

“I had a wide-open look, and it rimmed out. It rimmed in and rimmed out, so…” James said, his thoughts trailing off.

His miss left the door open for Murray to win it.

“Kid hit a tough shot,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.

Russell finished with 23 points on the strength of seven three-pointers, rebounding from a poor Game 1. Too many other Lakers were not nearly as effective.

Rui Hachimura continued his rough series, scoring only three points on one-for-seven shooting. Austin Reaves scored a quiet nine points and Taurean Prince (six points) was again the only Lakers reserve that scored. Spencer Dinwiddie, Jaxson Hayes and Gabe Vincent were all blanked in 31 combined minutes off the bench.

Monday marked a different theme from Game 1, where the Lakers held a 12-point lead in the second quarter but lost, 114-103, thanks to a shoddy third quarter. This time, their pain came later in the game. A lot later.

Nikola Jokic had 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists for Denver, which won the fourth quarter by a 32-20 margin.

“We know they’re going to get into a rhythm at some point,” James said. “A 20-point lead in this league is not safe, especially against the defending champion. We’ve got to do better, but we had our chances.”

If nothing else, the Lakers might get good health news for Game 3, with various media reports predicting reserve forwards Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood would return to action Thursday after missing substantial time. Vanderbilt hasn’t played since Feb. 1 because of a foot injury while Wood hasn’t played since Feb. 14 because of a knee procedure.

The big-picture percentages, though, simply aren’t in the Lakers’ favor. Teams with a 2-0 lead are 314-27 in eventually closing out a best-of-seven series, a 92% success rate in NBA history.

The Lakers will somehow have to beat the odds. It’s all they can do after a devastating night in Denver.