Magic Vs Lakers: Botched final play between Luka, LeBron dooms Lakers in 110-109 loss

In a chaotic finish that summed up the night, magic vs lakers ended 110-109 when Desmond Bane hit a late 3 after Paolo Banchero’s drive — and Luka Dončić’s hesitation on the Lakers’ last look left LeBron James with a rushed, off-balance heave that missed.

Desmond Bane’s go-ahead 3 rewrote the final minute

Desmond Bane’s 3 off a pass from Paolo Banchero with 35. 4 seconds left was a key moment in the Magic’s win. Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images

Orlando completed a 110-109 comeback win in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. Paolo Banchero had 36 points — his most in four weeks and his second-most of the season — and he grabbed the rebound on a missed free throw by LeBron James with 42. 3 seconds left while Orlando trailed by two.

On the ensuing possession Banchero used a screen from Wendell Carter Jr., got two feet in the paint and, instead of attacking, hesitated and found Bane. Both corners were filled; Anthony Black, who was struggling with his shot, was on the weak side while Tristan da Silva, who went 3-for-5 on 3s, occupied the strong side and kept Rui Hachimura close.

With LeBron tagging Carter and Deandre Ayton in front of Banchero, Bane was left open. Bane, a 39 percent 3-point shooter who had missed six of his first seven attempts, stepped into the shot and drilled it, forcing a Lakers timeout with 34. 6 seconds left. The Magic account posted “BIG TIME BANE” with a clip of the shot on February 25, 2026.

Botched final play: Dončić’s pass and James’ desperation 3

The Lakers’ last possession, run from a set play with 6. 7 seconds remaining, ended in a pass from Luka Dončić to LeBron James that produced a missed, desperation turnaround 3. Dončić, the league’s leading scorer, executed the screen and emerged just behind the three-point line but paused, double-pumped and then bounce-passed to James, who took the shot off-balance and came up short.

Dončić later took responsibility: “I know I was open, but I just thought I was a little bit far. Tried to take one dribble to get a little closer. Probably shouldn’t have picked up the ball, just tried to attack. ” He added that his earlier poor shooting — 2-for-10 from beyond the arc — may have influenced him, saying, “Maybe a little bit. ”

How the lead changed in the closing seconds

On the possession before the Lakers’ final chance, Dončić set up Hachimura for a corner 3 that missed; the Lakers failed to secure the rebound. Out of the ensuing baseline out-of-bounds play Dončić found a cutting James for a go-ahead dunk after a Reaves back screen, a play that exposed defensive rotations when Anthony Black failed to help Jonathan Isaac.

But Orlando retook the lead when Wendell Carter Jr. converted a putback layup, setting the stage for the Lakers’ ill-fated final possession.

Aftermath: blame, regret and a planned conversation on the flight

Dončić finished 8 for 24 from the field for 22 points, his lowest-scoring output in more than three months in a game he completed without injury. He said, “I didn’t want to lose the ball, and we didn’t have timeouts. But like I said, shouldn’t have picked up the ball. I should attack. That’s on me. ”

LeBron said the pass was sudden and that Dončić “kind of lost his balance, ” adding, “I was kind of off balance when he gave it to me. ” Coach JJ Redick confirmed the play was designed for Dončić — “We obviously ran a play for him to get a look, ” — and said he would discuss the play with Dončić during their flight to Phoenix, where the Lakers face the Suns.

Magic coach’s late-game choice and the short clock

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley declined to call a timeout with 26. 3 seconds left because he liked the personnel on the floor: the lineup included the trio of Dončić, James and Reaves alongside Ayton and Hachimura, who was in the game instead of starter Marcus Smart. Mosley said he wanted his team to get it done live and that a timeout would have given the Lakers time to draw up a play; the remainder of his comment is unclear in the provided context.

The game followed a bitter stretch for Orlando: they had been beaten at the double-overtime buzzer by the Phoenix Suns’ Jalen Green on Saturday night, and they had nearly lost to the LA Clippers when Bennedict Mathurin failed to convert a final-shot opportunity in their next game. Those near-misses framed the trust the Magic showed in the final minute against Los Angeles.

Redick’s stated plan to address the final possession on the flight to Phoenix is the next confirmed development after this game; the Lakers are scheduled to face the Suns in Phoenix on that trip.