The Los Angeles Lakers know they need 48 minutes of two-way dominance to even their first-round series with the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, after losing Game 1 despite a promising start.

A solid start never hurts, and the Lakers, like the opener, got off to a fast start in Game 2, taking a 15-9 lead in the first 5.5 minutes courtesy to some terrific play on both sides of the court. D’Angelo Russell rebounded from his 1-of-9 three-point shooting performance on Saturday by hitting three quick threes, providing the Lakers with a much-needed boost around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

On defense, the Lakers were flying about the court early, and James set the tone with a tremendous block on Jamal Murray as he attempted a slam.

LeBron received the ball quite cleanly, cradling it as Murray attempted to put it away and having the strength to send it out to the bench.

On a possession-by-possession basis, James isn’t the same defensive force he once was, but when he taps into his energy reserves, he can still pull off some pretty spectacular feats. He understands how important Game 2 is to the Lakers’ chances in the series, and this block was an early highlight that signaled to both sides what this game will be like.