The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their first home loss of the season on Thursday night, falling to the Orlando Magic in heartbreaking fashion off a late 3-pointer from Franz Wagner. But the Magic were only in that position due to the Lakers’ failures at the free throw line with LeBron James splitting a pair while Anthony Davis missed three free throws in the final minute.
Of course, many will point to those misses at the line as ultimately costing the Lakers the game, particularly Davis’ as the Wagner game-winner came after he missed two. But LeBron views things differently and wouldn’t put the blame solely on free throws.
“No, I mean, we had our chances, but they played well,” James said after the loss. “We played well. I mean, obviously the biggest bucket of the night, obviously from Franz [Wagner], but, I mean, we put ourselves in a position to win the game. We just didn’t come through for it.”
LeBron would then elaborate on exactly why he feels that way.
“Because it’s a 48-minute game, you can’t just point to the free throws,” the Lakers superstar added. “Obviously, you want to try to close out the game. We had our chances. We missed them, and you move on. But if you just, what we do in the third quarter, we got outscored, 29-21, we came out and lost the lead.
“We had a seven-point lead at halftime, and they took the lead in the third, so there’s a lot of game between the game. You can’t just point to one thing. Obviously, you have your opportunity at the free-throw line. We didn’t capitalize, but we move on from that.”
As James noted, the Lakers had a poor third quarter offensively when they could have pushed their lead out. Additionally, the Lakers’ defense was unacceptable as they allowed a Magic team that averages under 107 points per game and shoots under 31% from 3-point range to score 119 points and knock down 15 threes.
The missed free throws down the stretch make for an easy target and they did indeed play a huge role in the loss to the Magic. But LeBron is absolutely right in that there was plenty the Lakers could have done throughout the contest that would’ve ensured a win before it ever got to that point.
Lakers’ LeBron James tips hat to Franz Wagner on game-winning 3-pointer
Even though the Lakers’ missed free throws opened the door for the Magic, they still had to make the shots themselves and Franz Wagner did just that, hitting a stepback 3-pointer to win the game, which LeBron James simply tipped his cap to.
“I mean, but it’s you tip your hat,” LeBron said on Wagner’s game-winner. “I mean, Cam [Reddish] played great defense on his shot. A stepback 3 from way beyond the 3-point line. You tip your hat on that.”
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