The Los Angeles Lakers lost 118-106 to the Orlando Magic tonight. This marks the third straight loss in a row for the Lakers, and their first of a three-game road trip in the Eastern Conference. For some reason, the Lakers' defense, which had been lauded for its intensity, has completely fallen off, and they are no longer able to cause problems for opposing players on the offensive end of the court.
Luka Doncic was putting up strong numbers with 32 points (9-23 FG), seven rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. LeBron James looked much better in his second game back from injury, dropping 24 points (9-18 FG), six rebounds, and eight assists. Austin Reaves missed some key shots early on, going 18 points (7-16 FG), six rebounds, and four assists.
As for the Magic, Franz Wagner was the star of the show with 32 points (13-26 FG), five rebounds, eight assists, and one steal. Paolo Banchero wasn't far behind with 30 points (9-17 FG), seven rebounds, one assist, and one block. Anthony Black came off the bench with an excellent game, scoring 17 points (7-10 FG), with five rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block.
The Lakers looked off the pace yet again. Granted, LeBron James has only just returned to the team after a two-week hiatus. But his reintegration into the starting lineup shouldn't affect the team so much that they forget to play the way they were this entire season. The Lakers will try and get back to the drawing board, but tonight just wasn't their night.
With that being said, here are three reasons why the Lakers lost to the Magic:
Magic Explode In Third Quarter For 34 Points
The Orlando Magic kept the game close in the first half, ending the period with just a two-point deficit as the Lakers had a 60-58 lead. If you watched the second half of that game, it's hard to believe the game was ever this close, as the Orlando Magic just exploded in the third quarter with a mammoth performance.
The Magic would go on to score 34 points in the quarter. It was a brilliant showing from a team that had been far from its best during this recent stretch at home. On top of the brilliant offensive outing during this quarter, the Magic also held the Lakers to just 18 points.
Overall, the Magic outscored the Lakers by 16 points during the third quarter. And as hard as they tried, the Lakers were not able to erase or even eat into that deficit in the fourth quarter, allowing the Magic to ride away into the sunset with a well-earned victory at the end of the game.
Abysmal Scoring From Lakers Bench
The Lakers had seven bench players play a combined 72 minutes and contribute just 14 points. This is an atrocious and unacceptable level of scoring from the bench, with each player contributing just two points on average. In fact, none of the Lakers' bench players even came close to crossing double-digits in scoring, with Rui Hachimura's five points being the highest of any bench player.
The Lakers rank 25th in the NBA when it comes to bench scoring, with an average of 26.2 points per game. Even for their low standards, this level of production from the bench is absolutely abysmal. Given how the names that were coming off the bench today, their low scoring is a bit of a surprise.
Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, and Gabe Vincent all combined for just 10 points. The Lakers need their bench players to perform at a higher level if they want to turn things around over the coming games and finally get back to winning ways. But if the bench scoring doesn't improve soon, especially in the playoffs, things will only get worse for them.
Lakers Three-Point Shooting Suffers Again
The Los Angeles Lakers shot 10-32 from beyond the arc, converting just 31.3% of their attempts from deep. Yet another game where the Lakers' inability to convert their shots from the three-point line has cost them. By contrast, the Magic went 15-40 from range, converting 37.5% of their shots from deep.
JJ Redick will hope tonight's shooting woes are nothing more than an aberration, as the Lakers have ranked 16th in three-point shooting over the last 20 games, converting 36.1% of the shots from beyond the arc. This is a stark improvement from where they were earlier in the season.
If the Lakers want to turn things around over the next few games, they need to make improving their three-point shooting a priority. Otherwise, opposition teams will torch them on a near-nightly basis. And as bad as things might be in the regular season, the playoffs will be even tougher, and that is where they need to be at their absolute best.
The Lakers will now travel to Indiana to play the Pacers on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM EST. A tough challenge for the Lakers, playing against an in-form Pacers at home, who are 9-1 in their last 10 home games. It will take a gritty and tough performance from the Lakers to get back to winning ways.
