EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Lakers are running out of time to turn around their seeding-game struggles, with just two more games before playoffs and their chance at a 17th championship.

The team is 2-4 since descending upon Orlando with 21 other teams. Their offense has been spotty and their three-point shooting is ragged. They will try to correct it all Monday against Denver.

There were signs of life Saturday against Indiana with 13 three-pointers — almost double their output the previous two games — but the team still suffered a 116-111 loss.

Anthony Davis had a rough game, missing 11 of 14 shots, having now recorded as many uneventful games (three) as solid ones in Orlando. This is something to monitor.

Davis has been careless with the ball — 11 turnovers the last two games — and he seems tentative at times, settling for outside shots instead of attacking from the post. He hasn’t made a three-pointer in the last three games.

He is the key to the Lakers’ championship aspirations. LeBron James is still one of the NBA’s top players, as is younger Davis, so the Lakers need both at their best to win it all.

On the bright side, the Lakers showed some punch from three-point range Saturday.

In two games leading up to that, they made exactly seven three-pointers, their lowest two-game total since 2015. They almost doubled that against Indiana, though their 33.3% accuracy from beyond the arc wasn't ideal.

In just six reseeding games, the Lakers have slid from 12th to 24th in three-point percentage across the league.

They welcomed boosts against Indiana from two unexpected sources:

1. Quinn Cook made five three-pointers and scored 21 points off the bench after being a forgotten man in the rotation. He logged a total of three minutes in the first three reseeding games, but Coach Frank Vogel called on him more recently because of the Lakers’ three-point woes.

Cook is a 41% career shooter behind the arc. He made 55.6% of his long-distance tries against Indiana.

Starting guard Kentavious-Caldwell Pope won't play against Denver (sprained ankle), giving Cook another opportunity to state his case for more playing time.

2. Talen Horton-Tucker, a rookie, was also a source of scoring Saturday with 10 points in his second consecutive game.

He was two of four from three-point range and drew praise from teammates as a 19-year-old in his first NBA season.

Horton-Tucker, the 46th pick in last year's draft, spent almost his entire rookie season with the Lakers’ G-League affiliate and appeared briefly in only two games for the Lakers last December.

He is averaging 17.5 minutes in his last two games and has four steals over the same span. The Lakers envisioned him as a solid defensive player when he declared for the NBA draft after only one year at Iowa State.

Mike Bresnahan is the Lakers analyst for Spectrum SportsNet.