Magic Vs Lakers: Botched Final Play Between Luka, LeBron Hands Orlando a 110-109 Win
In Los Angeles, the magic vs lakers matchup collapsed on the final possession when Luka Doncic hesitated and passed to LeBron James, who missed a contested 3-pointer, leaving the Lakers on the wrong end of a 110-109 loss. The result finished a 4-4 homestand and intensified questions about the team’s late-game execution.
Final sequence and the 6. 7-second play
Coach JJ Redick's design for the closing moments began with LeBron James inbounding the ball with 6. 7 seconds left. Doncic came off a screen and emerged wide open roughly a stride behind the 3-point line, but he hesitated, double-pumped into defensive coverage and bounce-passed back to James. James, pressured by 6-foot-10 Jonathan Isaac, launched a fallaway 3 that never threatened the rim, sealing the 110-109 final score.
Luka Doncic: hesitation, shot numbers and self-assessment
Dončić, identified as the NBA’s leading scorer and noted as Slovenian, finished 8 for 24 from the field for 22 points — his lowest scoring output in more than three months in a game he did not leave early with injury. He said he knew he was open but felt "a little bit far, " and explained he "tried to take one dribble to get a little closer. Probably shouldn’t have picked up the ball, just tried to attack. " He also acknowledged his 2-for-10 performance from 3-point range against Orlando might have affected his rhythm: "Maybe a little bit. " Later he added, "I didn’t want to lose the ball, and we didn’t have timeouts... shouldn’t have picked up the ball. I should attack. That’s on me. "
LeBron James and the preceding possession
James was the immediate recipient of Doncic’s final pass and had hit a go-ahead dunk on the prior possession after a baseline inbounds feed from Doncic with 26 seconds to play. James said he thought Doncic "had a great look, but that’s my POV, " and later noted he did not have time to square up when the ball came back to him: "I was kind of off balance when he gave it to me. " He suggested observers should ask Doncic what he saw on the play, adding that it appeared Doncic ‘‘lost his balance’’ and lacked rhythm.
Wendell Carter Jr. and the momentum swing
After James’ dunk put the Lakers briefly ahead, Wendell Carter Jr. reclaimed the lead for Orlando with a putback layup that created the final opportunity for Los Angeles. The Lakers had squandered a 12-point second-half lead, and it marked the first time this season they lost a game while ahead after three quarters.
Coach JJ Redick, the homestand and the road ahead
Redick said he had not yet discussed the final play with Doncic and planned to do so on the flight to Phoenix on Wednesday, where the Lakers will face the Suns, a team described as right on their tails for sixth place in the Western Conference. He defended the play call, saying, "We obviously ran a play for him to get a look. I felt like he had a decent shot. " The defeat left the Lakers 4-4 over the homestand and underscored the concern inside the locker room that they "won't get far if Doncic and James can't command big moments, " a reality the team confronted directly after the game.
What makes this notable is how the execution of a single, well-drawn set exposed both a lack of shot rhythm from distance and split-second decision-making under pressure; those factors combined to turn an organized final possession into a decisive loss in Los Angeles.
The magic vs lakers headline moment — a hesitation, a pass and a missed 3 — leaves the club with immediate questions to address before departing for Phoenix and a stretch of the schedule that will test whether this was an aberration or a symptom of a deeper late-game issue.
