LOS ANGELES — The Lakers were defeated by the Orlando Magic 110-109 on Tuesday, following a mishandled sideline inbound pass involving LeBron James and Luka Doncic in the closing moments that failed to yield a favorable scoring opportunity.
After Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. converted a putback basket with 6.7 seconds left, giving Orlando a one-point advantage, L.A. requested a stoppage in play. On the subsequent possession, James delivered the ball to an unguarded Doncic, who received it on the left flank beyond the 3-point arc but chose not to attempt a shot.
“I knew I was uncovered, but I just felt I was a little bit distant,” Doncic explained. “I attempted to advance the ball by one dribble. And I probably ought not to have stopped my dribble and simply attempted to drive.”
Once he ceased his dribbling motion, Doncic was promptly converged upon by two defenders from the Magic, Paolo Banchero and Anthony Black. He hesitated, spun, and then delivered the pass back to James, who was guarded by Orlando’s Jonathan Isaac on the wing.
James received the ball with 2.9 seconds remaining, evaded Isaac’s defense, and launched a 27-foot fading jump shot from beyond the arc that failed to connect as time expired.
“I thought he had a favorable scoring chance, and it seemed like he just appeared to lose his footing,” James commented when asked for clarification regarding the play’s failure. “He lacked fluidity handling the ball, for whatever reason. And it somewhat enabled [Orlando’s defense] to recover their positions in front of him. And I was rather unsteady when he passed it to me. I believed he had an excellent opportunity. That’s my perspective.”
Doncic, who had converted 8 of 24 field goal attempts and 2 of 10 three-pointers in the contest, was questioned about whether his inconsistent shooting performance influenced his decision when he declined the first scoring attempt.
“Perhaps somewhat,” he replied. “I think I believed there was ample time. It was, what, six, seven seconds. It was sufficient time to secure a more advantageous shot, attempt to penetrate, so that’s why I stopped [my dribble].”
Doncic stated he had no discussion with James regarding the sequence post-match.
When inquired if he thought James had a strong chance to make the game-winning shot when he delivered the ball, Doncic — who recorded a personal best of 15 assists for the season — confirmed he did.
“I mean, I just noticed he was unguarded, and I wished to avoid a turnover,” Doncic shared. “We were out of timeouts. … [But] I ought not to have stopped my dribble. I ought to have driven to the basket. … I take responsibility for that.”
The sideline pass was one of multiple squandered chances that led to L.A. squandering a 12-point advantage in the second half and suffering their inaugural defeat of the season after holding a lead following the third quarter, having previously boasted a 25-0 record in such situations.
James failed to convert a foul shot with 44.7 seconds left that would have extended L.A.’s lead to three points, and Orlando’s Desmond Bane sank a three-pointer on the subsequent offensive play to grant the Magic a solitary point advantage.
After Banchero unsuccessfully attempted a pull-up jumper with 10.5 seconds left with L.A. leading by a single point, the Lakers did not retrieve the defensive board, resulting in Carter’s decisive putback score.
This defeat against Orlando resulted in the Lakers’ record falling to 4-4 across their eight-game stretch at home. They will travel for away games to play the Phoenix Suns on Thursday and then face the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
“It’s somewhat disheartening,” Lakers center Deandre Ayton commented on the defeats sustained at home. “We retain numerous opportunities to improve our standing as much as possible. It felt peculiar during the homestand, merely achieving a 4-4 record. These were difficult defeats, and we competed against several formidable opponents. But … we just need to return to practice and prepare for the upcoming contest.”