‘We fought today.’ It wasn’t a moral victory, but resolve at LSU gives UK some solace.

Mardi Gras Miracle, part deux?

That became the challenge Kentucky faced at LSU on Tuesday night. The original Mardi Gras Miracle saw UK rally from 31 points down in the second half to win in 1994.

This time, Kentucky had to overcome injuries, foul trouble and a crowd roused into a celebratory mood by a ceremony in which LSU named its court after former coach Dale Brown.

LSU won 65-60 but Kentucky could be credited with an effort bordering on the unlikely if not miraculous.

“We fought today,” Kellan Grady said. “You can’t question our effort. … We are a resilient bunch, and we showed a lot of resolve and toughness.”

Kentucky (11-3 overall, 1-1 SEC) had to overcome the loss of point guard Sahvir Wheeler to injury less than four minutes into the game. The team’s other pillar, Oscar Tshiebwe, did not play the final 11-plus minutes of the first half because of foul trouble. Cramps forced TyTy Washington to a slow walk to the locker room in the second half.

If that wasn’t enough of a handicap, what Grady called “abysmal shooting” — 8-of-24 from three-point range and 10-of-20 from the foul line — did not prevent Kentucky from narrowing a nine-point deficit with barely two minutes left to a one-point test of nerves in the final seconds.

Although turnovers on the last two possessions prevented victory on the scoreboard, UK Coach John Calipari balked at the suggestion that the game had the makings of a moral victory.

“No,” he said. “No, no, no. We don’t have those here. And I don’t coach that way.”

Wheeler exited at the 16:07 mark when he ran into an Efton Reid screen sight unseen. He crumpled to the court and stayed there. He needed help from two people to walk off the court and go to the locker room. He had had little impact on the first four minutes, missing his only shot and having a one-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio.

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas faulted Tshiebwe for not alerting Wheeler to the screen set by one of LSU’s “bigs.”

Without a player who came into the game ranked third in Division I in assists, Kentucky was not the same team.

“He’s the engine on this thing,” Calipari said. “He gets us all moving.”

The UK coach said he did not know the extent of Wheeler’s injury.

Less than five minutes later, Tshiebwe committed his second foul and went to the bench. He did not return until after the break. He finished the half with an un-Oscar-like six points and three rebounds.

If playing without the team’s twin pillars was not challenging enough, Kentucky had to compete without getting a basket from Grady in the first half.

Grady, perhaps the nation’s hottest shooter having made 20 of 31 three-point shots in the last four games, missed all seven of his shots in the first half. Six came from three-point range.

That contributed to UK’s 1-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc.

With Jacob Toppin leading the way, Kentucky still competed. He scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half.

Combined with nine LSU turnovers, Kentucky could hang in there.

“I was disappointed how we started the game …,” Calipari said. “It was almost like they were intimidated by the game. You can’t play at Kentucky if you’re intimidated by a game. You’ve just got to go. Play!”

Kentucky made its first three three-point shots — all from a corner — to start the second half. Grady made his first four three-point shots after halftime, the fourth giving UK its largest lead at 50-41 with 13:05 left.

When asked what got him going, Grady seemed to echo what kept Kentucky competitive.

“I kept shooting,” he said. “I didn’t get down. I mean, eventually, (a shot will go in). It’s hard to go 0-for-10.”

Grady added that the UK coaches also advised him to not lean as he took shots.

Even with Grady returning to form, this was not the night for a routine pull away to victory.

LSU scored the next eight points to reduce Kentucky’s lead to 50-48.

Worse, the ESPN cameras caught Washington being tended to on the bench. Then with 8:40 left, he was helped off the court. Washington suffered from cramping, Calipari said.

That left UK without its top two point guards.

Said Calipari of Wheeler, “Normally, I’m letting him go. He decides what we’re doing.”

Without Wheeler and Washington, UK had to plot offense rather than play. “Which is not how I want to coach,” Calipari said.

Even with Washington returning in a more limited capacity, LSU went on a 20-2 run that established a 61-52 lead with 2:37 left.

Two late turnovers prevented UK from winning after a rally narrowed the deficit to 61-60 inside the final 30 seconds.

After the loss at Notre Dame last month, Calipari second-guessed his decision not to call a timeout. This time, he said he tried to.

“Joe (Lindsay, one of the referees) must not have heard it,” he said of his calling for a timeout. “I was right in his ear screaming it. Maybe my voice is going.”

Grady suggested the game’s final seconds can be a teaching tool.

“We have to be prepared to execute when the game matters,” he said. “We didn’t do a good job of that down the stretch.”

Next game

Georgia at No. 16 Kentucky

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

TV: SEC Network

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Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler injured early in game against LSU