Magic Vs Lakers: Banchero’s 36 and a Botched Luka–LeBron Inbound Cost Lakers a 110-109 Loss
The Orlando Magic edged the Los Angeles Lakers 110-109 in a one-point comeback in Los Angeles, a result sealed when a sidelines inbounds sequence between Luka Dončić and LeBron James failed to produce a quality shot in the final seconds. The outcome matters now because Orlando’s late execution — capped by a go-ahead 3 from Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. ’s putback — overcame several Lakers opportunities and snapped Los Angeles’s spotless record when leading after three quarters.
Wendell Carter Jr. 's putback and the final sequence
With the game tied or close late, Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. scored on a putback with 6. 7 seconds remaining to give Orlando a one-point edge. L. A. called a timeout and ran a sidelines inbounds play that began with LeBron James passing to an open Luka Dončić on the left wing beyond the 3-point line. Dončić declined the initial long look, saying he felt a little far and tried to take a dribble closer but acknowledged he probably should have attacked instead of picking up his dribble. Once Dončić stopped, Paolo Banchero and Anthony Black converged on him, and he swung the ball back to James.
Luka Dončić and LeBron James' botched inbound play
LeBron caught the return pass with 2. 9 seconds on the clock, turned away from Jonathan Isaac and launched a 27-foot fadeaway 3 that missed at the buzzer. Dončić finished 8-for-24 for the game and 2-for-10 from 3, and he recorded a season-high 15 assists. Dončić said he did not speak with James about the play after the game and admitted it was on him for picking up the dribble rather than attacking; he also conceded that he thought James would have had a good shot when he passed it.
Paolo Banchero's 36 points and rebound sequence
Paolo Banchero poured in 36 points against the Lakers — his most in four weeks and the second-highest single-game total of his season. On a decisive possession late, Banchero grabbed a rebound of a missed free throw by James with 42. 3 seconds left and Orlando trailing by two, then used a screen from Carter to get two feet into the paint. Rather than finish through contact, Banchero hesitated, read the defense and found Desmond Bane open on the perimeter.
Desmond Bane's go-ahead 3 and surrounding rotation details
Desmond Bane, a 39 percent career 3-point shooter who had missed six of his first seven attempts that night, knocked down the 3 off Banchero’s feed. That shot was identified in coverage at 35. 4 seconds remaining and it forced a Lakers timeout with 34. 6 seconds showing on another timeline in the provided material. The exact sequencing of those timestamps is unclear in the provided context. On the possession before the inbounds play that led to James’s missed buzzer attempt, Banchero had missed a pull-up with 10. 5 seconds remaining while L. A. led by one; the Lakers failed to secure the defensive rebound and Carter’s putback followed.
Jamahl Mosley, personnel choices and the decision not to call timeout
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley chose not to call a timeout with 26. 3 seconds left, preferring to keep the personnel on the floor. Mosley kept a lineup that included Dončić, James and Reaves together with Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura — Hachimura was in the game instead of starter Marcus Smart. Mosley said he wanted his team to handle the moment live rather than give the Lakers an opportunity to draw up a play.
Earlier misses, rebounds and the broader aftermath
The game featured multiple swings: James missed a free throw with 44. 7 seconds left that would have put Los Angeles up three, and on the following possession Desmond Bane made a 3 to put Orlando up by one. Earlier in the fourth, Dončić set up Hachimura for a corner 3 that missed and the Magic failed to grab the rebound; on the ensuing baseline out-of-bounds play Dončić found a cutting James for a go-ahead dunk after Black failed to help Jonathan Isaac off a Reaves back screen. After the loss, the Lakers’ eight-game homestand record fell to 4-4; they will play the Phoenix Suns on Thursday and the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. Lakers center Deandre Ayton said the 4-4 homestand felt strange and upsetting, but emphasized they have chances to improve and must get back to work.
What makes this notable is how several discrete late-game events — a missed free throw, a pulled defensive rebound, Banchero’s late decision to find an open shooter and the inbound miscue between Dončić and James — combined to decide a one-point outcome. Orlando’s comeback completed a 110-109 win in Los Angeles that also followed a tough stretch in which the Magic had been beaten at the double-overtime buzzer by the Phoenix Suns’ Jalen Green on Saturday and then saw the Los Angeles Clippers’ Bennedict Mathurin miss a chance to beat them in the subsequent game. The Magic emphasized trust in their scheme and players, and the night ended with Banchero’s creation and Bane’s go-ahead shot standing as the decisive plays.
