Magic Vs Lakers: Luka’s Hesitation and LeBron’s Miss Seal Lakers’ 110-109 Loss
LOS ANGELES — In the magic vs lakers matchup on Tuesday night, a late hesitation by Luka Doncic and a contested 3-pointer by LeBron James ended the Lakers’ chance to win, leaving Los Angeles on the wrong side of a 110-109 final. The loss closed a 4-4 homestand and amplified concerns about the team’s ability to close tight games.
Magic Vs Lakers: Final possession with 6. 7 seconds
The closing sequence unfolded exactly as coach JJ Redick designed: LeBron James inbounded with 6. 7 seconds remaining, and Luka Doncic came off a screen to appear wide open about one stride behind the 3-point line. Instead of a quick release, Doncic hesitated, double-pumped into defensive coverage and bounced the ball back to an oncoming James.
James, with limited time and under pressure from 6-foot-10 Jonathan Isaac, launched a fallaway 3 that never seriously threatened the rim. The miss left the Lakers trailing by one, sealing a 110-109 defeat to Orlando.
Luka Doncic’s shooting and postgame explanation
Doncic finished 8 for 24 and scored 22 points — his lowest-scoring performance in more than three months in a game he didn’t leave early due to injury. He also went 2 for 10 from 3-point range against the Magic, a lack of rhythm he later acknowledged may have influenced his decision at the end.
He said he felt a bit too far from the line and tried to take a dribble to get closer, then picked up the ball and elected to attack rather than shoot. He added that he didn’t want to risk turning the ball over with no timeouts, and concluded that he should have attacked on the play — taking responsibility for the mistake.
LeBron James, JJ Redick and the immediate reaction
James said he believed Doncic had a good look and that he saw what appeared to be a loss of balance and rhythm that allowed defenders to recover. He noted he had no time to create a clean shot when the ball returned to him and that defensive pressure affected his attempt.
Redick said the team had run the play to create a look for Doncic and that he felt the designed option was reasonable. He had not yet discussed the play with Doncic and said he would have the opportunity to do so Wednesday on the flight to Phoenix.
Homestand collapse and Wendell Carter Jr. ’s putback
The loss capped a 4-4 homestand in which the Lakers failed to resemble a title contender. Los Angeles blew a 12-point lead in the second half and suffered its first loss this season when holding a lead after three quarters.
Earlier in the final minute, Doncic’s baseline inbounds pass found James for a go-ahead dunk with 26 seconds to play. Orlando responded when Wendell Carter Jr. scored on a putback layup, regaining the lead and forcing the Lakers into the decisive final possession.
Standings pressure and what this means for the road trip
The Lakers leave for Phoenix on Wednesday, where they will face a Suns team that is right on their tails for sixth place in the Western Conference. What makes this notable is that the hesitation came from the NBA’s leading scorer, a Slovenian scoring machine expected to take those late shots, and his unusual pause directly produced a scramble that resulted in a contested, off-balance attempt by James.
The club’s internal assessment is already clear: the Lakers won’t advance far if Doncic and James cannot seize pivotal moments. The final sequence—an inbound, a hesitation, a recovery and a miss—turned a one-point game into another question about execution in the clutch.
