In a topsy-turvy fourth quarter, the Lakers came up short when LeBron James missed a last-second shot that sent L.A. to a 110-109 loss to the Magic on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
James had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Luka Doncic had 22 points, but he was just eight-for-24 from the field and two-for-10 from three-point range.
The game went back-and-forth most of the fourth quarter, each play more important than the previous one, each moment more intense, each possession more meaningful for both teams.
When Rui Hachimura drilled a three-pointer from the corner off a pass from Doncic with two minutes and 14 seconds left, the Lakers (34-23) looked to be in pretty good shape.
But Paolo Banchero scored and was fouled by Deandre Ayton. Banchero missed the free throw, leaving the Lakers ahead 106-105 with 1:18 left.
LeBron James went to work in the post over the smaller Anthony Black, drawing a foul. But James made just one of two free throws for a 107-105 Lakers lead
Desmond Bane answered with a three-pointer for a 108-107 lead that forced the Lakers to call a timeout with 34.6 seconds left.
James then scored on a dunk for a 109-108 Lakers lead.
Banchero missed a jumper for the Magic, but Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed an offensive rebound and scored for a 110-109 Orlando lead with 6.7 seconds left.
The Lakers had one last opportunity, but Doncic couldn’t get a three-pointer off and instead passed to James.
James took an off-balanced shot that missed as time expired.
The good news Tuesday is the Lakers sawa more engaged Deandre Ayton, a more active big man, a more involved player.
Doncic passed the ball inside to Ayton in the midpost early in the third quarter and watched his big center turn and shot over a smaller defender. Ayton missed the shot, but he collected the rebound and scored on a layup.
Ayton had 17 points on six-for-eight shooting and six rebounds in the first half and 21 points for the game to go along with 13 rebounds.
Doncic went down late in the first quarter after getting poked in his eye by Mo Wager, a red mark developing beneath his eye. Doncic stayed down for a while before eventually getting up with one minute and 59 seconds left in the first.
On the very next possession, Doncic drilled a three-pointer, a sign that his vision was clear.
He finished the first quarter with 11 points on four-for-eight shooting, four rebounds and four assists.
After the end of the first, Doncic went to the Lakers’ locker room, but he returned to the bench early in the second quarter.
Early in that second quarter, the Lakers displayed hustle and defense.
James ran down Anthony Black and blocked his shot off the backboard. Banchero got the rebound, but he had his shot blocked by a hustling Marcus Smart.
The Lakers started the third quarter by giving their fans a highlight moment.
It began with Ayton getting the defensive rebound and passing the ball to James, who then whipped the ball to Austin Reaves and filled the lane on the fast break.
Reaves threw a lob to James for a dunk, bringing the crowd to its feet.
The Lakers even opened a 12-point lead in the third quarter, their defense on point and their offense looking good.
But the Magic didn’t stop coming after the Lakers.
Orlando closed out the third quarter hard and got to within 80-79 entering the fourth.
The post LeBron James’ buzzer beater misses as Lakers fall to Magic appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
