While their second unit struggled in the first game since Rajon Rondo underwent hand surgery, defense failed the Los Angeles Lakers in a 130-117 loss to the Orlando Magic. The Lakers had their four-game winning streak snapped and lost a 10th in the last 11 road meetings with the Magic.
Brandon Ingram and LeBron James helped the Lakers get off to a quick start, and so too did 10 points off the bench from Josh Hart. But a first-quarter lead was wiped away as the Magic caught fire from behind the arc.
Entering as one of the top shooting teams in their past seven games, the Magic were held to one 3-pointer in the first quarter before going 5-for-8 from deep in the second. That propelled them to 37 points in the second and a 62-53 edge at halftime.
The Lakers were first to score in the third quarter, only for Orlando to rip off an 8-2 run to pull ahead by 15 points. Their lead grew to as many as 20 points.
That came after Ingram sparked a 6-0 run that prompted a Magic timeout. James added a slam dunk out of it before the scoring drought was snapped. The Lakers had particular trouble stopping D.J. Augustin in the pick and roll, as he seemingly got to the basket at will.
The Lakers went into the fourth quarter trailing by 19 points but mounted a 9-0 run to make a game of it with just over 5 minutes remaining. However, Orlando managed to come up with points on enough possessions to stave off a Lakers’ comeback.
