EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — It’s hard to win when two of your top players have trouble scoring — especially in the playoffs and on the road.

It’s what the Lakers experienced in a 103-93 loss Wednesday to the brash, always-confident Memphis Grizzlies in Game 2 of their first-round series.

Memphis was the more physical team Wednesday, pushing and shoving and jawing with the Lakers. In particular, LeBron James and Dillon Brooks had quite a few verbal exchanges with each other, but the Lakers’ lack of offense was the bigger problem.

D’Angelo Russell scored only five points, and Anthony Davis had a quiet 13 as the Grizzlies evened up the best-of-seven series at one game each.

Adding to the Lakers’ frustration, they were favored to win with Memphis All-Star guard Ja Morant sidelined because of a hand injury. Instead, they played from behind most of the night and trailed by 20 early in the third quarter.

Unheralded power forward Xavier Tillman hit the Lakers for a career-high 22 points and took 13 rebounds to help the Grizzlies also offset the loss of injured big men Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke.

The Lakers tried to sound an optimistic note despite the loss.

“At the end of the day, obviously we wish we could have got this one as well,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “Having a spilt nonetheless is a good trip.”

Even though the Lakers could have practically put the series out of reach with a win.

“I’m pretty sure if this was the NCAA tournament, my mood would be a lot different,” Ham said. “We anticipate a really grueling series.”

The next two games shift to Los Angeles on Saturday and next Monday.

“We understand what a series is all about. It’s not the first one to win one or two. It’s four,” James said. “We just didn’t execute as well as we did in Game 1.”

Two of the Lakers’ starters definitely fell under that category. Davis missed nine of his first 10 shots and 10 of 14 overall.

“I liked the shots I took. Just missed them. A lot of shots close to the rim normally I make,” he said. “Flush it and get ready for [Saturday].”

Russell, for his part, missed nine of 11 overall. He sounded a lot like Davis after the game.

“I like the shots I got. Honestly, just missing them,” Russell said.

James had a solid night with 28 points and Rui Hachimura continued his recent run with 20 points off the bench for the Lakers.

Tillman wasn’t the only Grizzlies player with a solid night. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Despite a rough ride Wednesday, Davis seemed intent on the near future.

“Looking forward to it. Wish we could play tomorrow,” he said. “I‘ll be ready for Game 3 for sure.”