Botched Inbounds Play Decides Magic Vs Lakers 110-109 Game at Crypto.com Arena
The Lakers fell 110-109 to the Orlando Magic after a stalled sidelines inbounds set between Luka Doncic and LeBron James failed to produce a quality shot, a sequence that decided the close contest in the final seconds of a night that left questions about Los Angeles' home form. Magic Vs Lakers has broader implications for the Lakers' seeding and momentum: the loss capped a 4-4 homestand and pushed L. A. to 34-23 on the season.
Magic Vs Lakers: final inbounds breakdown between Luka Doncic and LeBron James
After Wendell Carter Jr. 's offensive putback gave Orlando a 110-109 lead with 6. 7 seconds remaining, the Lakers called timeout and ran a sideline inbounds. LeBron James threw the ball to an open Luka Doncic on the left wing beyond the arc. Doncic, who was 8-of-24 for the game and 2-of-10 from three, declined the initial shot, saying he felt a bit long and wanted to take one dribble closer. Once he picked up his dribble he was quickly double-teamed by Paolo Banchero and Anthony Black, pivoted, and passed back to James.
James caught the pass with 2. 9 seconds left, turned away from Jonathan Isaac and launched a 27-foot fadeaway 3 that missed at the buzzer. Both players acknowledged the breakdown: Doncic admitted he probably should have attacked sooner, and James said he thought the look was good but that the sequence disrupted rhythm and left him off-balance.
Wendell Carter Jr. 's putback with 6. 7 seconds sealed the game
Carter Jr. produced the go-ahead basket on an offensive rebound after a missed jumper by Paolo Banchero, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds. The sequence followed a missed pull-up by Banchero with 10. 5 seconds remaining while the Lakers led by one, and a failure by L. A. to secure the defensive rebound that created the putback opportunity. Carter's score turned a one-point deficit into a one-point victory for Orlando.
Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Orlando's interior edge
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 36 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and made 10 of 11 free throws. Desmond Bane added 22 points and six assists. The Magic finished with 58 points in the paint and 15 second-chance points, advantages over the Lakers' 50 paint points and eight second-chance points that helped swing the game in Orlando's favor. Coach JJ Redick said the Magic were able to get to the basket consistently in the second half and that Banchero hit a number of jumpers.
Lakers' late miscues: missed free throws, blown 12-point lead and homestand slump
Los Angeles blew a 12-point second-half lead and lost for the first time this season when holding a lead entering the fourth quarter — a streak that had stood at 25-0. LeBron James missed a free throw with 44. 7 seconds left that would have pushed the Lakers up by three; on the next possession Desmond Bane hit a 3 to give Orlando a 108-107 edge. James then converted a dunk to restore a 109-108 lead before Carter's offensive rebound and putback flipped the result.
Stat lines for the Lakers included LeBron's 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting with six rebounds and four assists, Luka Doncic's 22 points with a season-high 15 assists and nine rebounds, and Deandre Ayton's first 20-point game in nearly a month — 21 points and 13 rebounds. Austin Reaves added 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting. What makes this notable is how a handful of late possessions and missed opportunities — free throws, defensive rebounds and that inbounds choice — compounded to erase a substantial comeback margin and hand Orlando the win.
Standings and schedule: homestand record, conference position and next opponents
The loss left the Lakers 4-4 over an eight-game homestand that stretched three weeks because of the weeklong All-Star break and dropped Los Angeles to 34-23 overall and 16-12 at home. Consecutive home setbacks moved the Lakers to sixth place in the Western Conference, with the Minnesota Timberwolves listed at 36-23. The homestand began with wins over Philadelphia and Golden State, included back-to-back losses to Oklahoma City and San Antonio, victories over Dallas and the Clippers, and concluded with defeats to Boston and Orlando. The Lakers will head on the road to face the Phoenix Suns and then the Golden State Warriors on their next two scheduled games.
Redick called the team a work in progress; Deandre Ayton described the string of home losses as upsetting but emphasized the need to regroup. A detail about how many free throws the Lakers missed against the Magic is unclear in the provided context.
