Donovan Mitchell Falls to Rui Hachimura in ESPN NBA 2K Players Tournament

Turns out the virtual Los Angeles Lakers are tough to beat as well.

Rui Hachimura used the Purple and Gold and defeated Donovan Mitchell 74-71 in the opening round of the 16-player NBA 2K bracket Sunday. Mitchell, who was the No. 4 seed in a bracket determined by NBA 2K player rankings, used the Brooklyn Nets but couldn't stop the combination of LeBron James and Anthony Davis when the game was on the line.

Spencer Dinwiddie could have tied it at the buzzer, but his three-pointer rimmed out.

There was some strategy involved, as each player had to choose from the eight teams they selected. The catch was players can only use a team one time, so they had to weigh using the best ones early or saving them for later in the single-elimination tournament.

Mitchell chose from a list that included his own Utah Jazz, as well as the Golden State Warriors, Lakers, Miami Heat, Nets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics.

Hachimura's list featured his own Washington Wizards, as well as the Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Clippers, Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Celtics and Toronto Raptors.

The Wizards forward built a four-point halftime lead as Mitchell tried switching different defenders to guard James. The King, much like he does in actual games, bullied his way to the rim with relative ease and created shots for himself and others as the No. 13 seed took early control of the game.

To Mitchell's credit, he battled back and took the lead in the third quarter before a nail-biter finish.

Kevin Durant caught fire down the stretch, started trading baskets with LeBron and threw down a monster slam dunk in crunch time. However, Hachimura took the lead for good with a James breakaway basket and Davis and-1 to go up five points in the final 50 seconds.

Mitchell stuck around and had a chance to tie it but couldn't drill the final three-pointer.

Hachimura will face the winner of the game between Devin Booker and Michael Porter Jr. in the second round.