The Los Angeles Lakers are staring up at the Denver Nuggets from inside a pretty deep hole after their Game 2 loss. But LeBron James knows it's a far from insurmountable climb to make.

The Lakers star spoke out on the 0-2 deficit they'll need to overcome in order to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.

“This is not the NCAA tournament,” said LeBron James.

“It's the first team to four wins. We have an opportunity to go home and play great basketball at home. Until a team beats you four times, then you always have an opportunity to come out with it. That's the confidence that we should have.”

LeBron is no stranger to overcoming a series deficit. But while the confidence should still be there for a Lakers side that gets their next two away from the Denver altitude, the journey, James acknowledged, will be far from easy.

“It's a tough hill to climb up but we still have an opportunity to play good basketball. If we can get better from Game 2 like we did tonight in Game 3, then we'll put ourselves in a position to do that,” the Lakers star said.

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As far as improvement goes, LeBron James would probably be the first to tell you that it starts with him. His counting stats in Game 2 weren't terrible at 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists, but his athleticism and energy felt zapped throughout the contest, punctuated by a blown dunk with no defenders in sight. He also missed all six of three-point attempts, any of which could have spelled the difference for the Lakers during the game's closing minutes.

But as LeBron said, it takes four wins to move on. They're still very much in this thing.