LeBron James: Lakers Still NBA's Best Defensive Team Despite G2 Loss to Warriors

After allowing 127 points to the Golden State Warriors in a Game 2 loss in the Western Conference semifinals, LeBron James is maintaining an optimistic outlook about the Los Angeles Lakers' defense going forward in the series.

James told reporters after the game he believes the Lakers are "still the best defensive team in the league" and Thursday's result "doesn't change" things.

The biggest difference from Game 1 to Game 2 for the Lakers was Anthony Davis. He was a force in the paint, both offensive and defensively, in the opener.

On Thursday night, Davis was held to 11 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes. He did have three blocks but also committed four turnovers. It was his lowest-scoring game since March 10 when he had eight points against the Toronto Raptors.

Golden State went from shooting 40.6 percent overall and only attempting six free throws in Game 1 to a 50.5 percent field-goal percentage and 16 free-throw attempts in Game 2.

The Lakers' perimeter defense will likely be a focus as they return home for Game 3. They have allowed the Warriors to make 21 three-pointers in each of the first two games, and they made 50 percent of their attempts on Thursday night.

James was taken out of the game in the second half. It looked like this was going to be a potential classic performance from the four-time NBA MVP when he had 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, but he was limited to two points and made one of five attempts after halftime.

The Lakers don't have an explosive offense, even with the depth they added at the trade deadline, so their strategy to win has to be playing stout defense. It's certainly a winning approach, because it worked in Game 1.

Head coach Darvin Ham and his staff will have to make adjustments after the Warriors figured something out in Game 2 they were able to exploit.

Game 3 between the Warriors and Lakers at Crypto.com Arena will be played on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.