The 2022-23 Los Angeles Lakers are used to overcoming the odds.

After the Play-In game (in which they trailed by 15 in the second half), “0.3” was written on their locker room whiteboard — a reference to the chance they were told they had of making the postseason when they were 2-10, per the organization's analytics department. They sat 13th in the West when LeBron James tore a tendon in his foot on Feb. 26, causing him to miss four weeks. They became the first No. 7 seed ever to reach the Western Conference Finals.

Now, after coming up short in Game 3 vs. the steamrolling Denver Nuggets — the Lakers' first defeat at Crypto.com Arena in the NBA Playoffs — they're faced with a historically daunting challenge: erasing a 3-0 deficit.

The Lakers' 119-118 loss on Saturday was the third straight game in which they kept things close but were ultimately outclassed. The players who spoke postgame technically articulated belief, but their dejected vibe suggested otherwise.

“Of course,” LeBron said when asked if he's motivated by the opportunity to make history for the zillionth time in his storied career. “That's the only mindset for me, for sure.”

“Just got to get one,” he added. “Just one at a time. Just focus on Game 4, and you know, that's all you can really think about.”

150 clubs have dropped the first three games of a series. None have rattled off four wins in a row. As scrappy and mentally tough as the Lakers are, their task at hand seems impracticable. Denver — the best team with the best player — has successfully countered every move the Lakers have made and would host two more games in high altitude, where they're undefeated in the playoffs.

“It’s not over,” claimed a subdued Anthony Davis.

All the Lakers can do is crunch tape on Sunday and go all out in Game 4. That is, if a trip back to Denver sounds more appealing than say, Cancun.

“It should be,” LeBron said when asked if their improbable midseason turnaround offers a source of optimism. “It's time to go right back home and start to refuel and start the treatment process and recovery process and get ready for Monday. My mindset is always locked in as if it's Game 1.”

“Difficult but not impossible,” Darvin Ham said of a potential comeback. “I think the deficit is 3-0, not four. As long as they haven’t gotten four yet, there’s still hope. We’re still alive.”

“There's always a chance,” said D'Angelo Russell.

That the Lakers keep competing into crunchtime speaks to their character. They have to say all the right things. But their tenor indicates that they've accepted the harsh reality: The Nuggets are larger, fresher, and deeper.

“Like I've been saying, they are just bigger than us,” explained Rui Hachimura. “They can just shoot over us. We are smaller than them, so they can just shoot over us.”

LeBron finished with 23 points (again, not enough), 7 rebounds, and 12 assists. AD had 28 and 18. Reaves (23 points) and Rui (13 points) brought it. The Lakers were +8 in free throws and +14 in points in the paint. Nikola Jokic was mired in foul trouble and didn't come alive until the fourth quarter.

Still, the Lakers couldn't crack the Nuggets, at home, with their season on the line. Jamal Murray scored 30 in the first half. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (17 points) and Bruce Brown (15 points) proved why they're championship-caliber supporting players. Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.'s length and movement impacted seemingly every possession in some fashion. The Nuggets repeatedly quelled the Lakers' momentum by drilling open 3s. Denver had 30 assists against six turnovers.

LeBron cited two reasons for the loss. The “timely shots by their role players” — which he believes have given Denver the “edge” all series — and a sequence in the fourth quarter, when a one-point Lakers lead turned into a 12-point deficit, ignited by two consecutive turnovers that each led to triples for the Nuggets.

“That was the game,” said LeBron. “We never got back in rhythm.”

Only LeBron knows if his assessment was an implicit indictment of Russell. But, that it could reasonably be interpreted that way reflects the problem. For the third game in a row, DLo looked utterly lost. The impending free agent scored three points on 1-for-8 shooting in 20 minutes. He was subbed out for good after committing a brutal turnover during the sequence LeBron mentioned.

Russell is 8-for-27 with 21 points in three games. According to the metrics and the eye test, he's been the most harmful player in the series, by far. Maybe the Lakers never had a chance against the Nuggets, but they wouldn't be down 3-0 had they gotten even a mediocre showing from their third-highest-paid player.

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“All good looks,” Ham testily said of Russell's performance. “He just has to remain aggressive. All good looks” (that was his full answer).

Russell was similarly terse about his game, which included a handful of misses that could have swung momentum.

“For me? Oh, I don't know,” he said about how he can adjust. “I really don't. I don't know. I'll try to figure it out. … Just make 'em. Take 'em. Make 'em.”

(As Ham correctly pointed out, Russell has played a pivotal role in the Lakers' post-trade-deadline run. Dennis Schroder and Jarred Vanderbilt have floundered in the WCF, as well.)

There's no need to over-analyze. The Nuggets are better, period. They chilled for the last several weeks of the season with the No. 1 seed locked up as the Lakers expended maximum effort in order to eke into the playoffs. Ham's rotation has whittled down as role players have underperformed. LeBron and AD are managing foot injuries. It's all coming to a head.

“Climbing uphill basically all season to get to this point, and it’s the same thing here,” Davis said. “You know, obviously it’s a steeper climb being down 0-3. But we are going to keep taking it one game at a time and try to get better and come out with a win on Monday.”

Resiliency has been a staple of Ham's squad. Even in Game 3, despite heavy legs and a double-digit first-quarter deficit, the Lakers clawed back. Now, though, they're out of answers and almost out of time. Are they, finally, out of hope?

“We can either come out Monday and go home or we can fight for another day,” said Reaves. “And with the group of guys that we've got, I know what that answer will be.”