Magic come back from down 16 but fall to Lakers to close out road trip
The Orlando Magic came back from a 16- point deficit to tie the game late in the fourth quarter but fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 111-105 Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena to close out their West Coast trip. But their bench didn’ t match the early production of the Lakers’ second unit led by Austin Reaves, who scored a career-high 35 points to go with 6 assists and 6...
The Orlando Magic came back from a 16-point deficit to tie the game late in the fourth quarter but fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 111-105 Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena to close out their West Coast trip.
The Magic (29-43) had a strong start, jumping out to a 20-11 lead behind strong play from the starters.
But their bench didn’t match the early production of the Lakers’ second unit led by Austin Reaves, who scored a career-high 35 points to go with 6 assists and 6 rebounds in 30 minutes.
The Lakers’ bench outscored the Magic’s 61-26.
Los Angeles’ bench helped to build a 47-31 lead in the second quarter, a 59-49 edge at halftime and an 84-81 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Magic kept chipping away at their deficit, and Cole Anthony’s 3-pointer with 2:39 remaining tied the game at 101.
One minute later, Paolo Banchero (21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) fouled Reaves on a 3-pointer. Reaves hit 2 of 3 free throws to give the Lakers a 103-101 lead with 1:33 remaining.
Franz Wagner (21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) made a layup 20 seconds later to tie the game again at 103 but Reaves made a pull-up 2 on the ensuing possession to give the Lakers a 2-point lead.
Wagner missed a pull-up 3 with 43.2 seconds left on the next possession, with Markelle Fultz (12 points, 10 assists) fouling Reaves while trying to go for a steal and sent him to the free throw line. Reaves made both free throws, giving the Lakers a 107-103 lead with 33.8 seconds left.
Banchero missed a layup on the Magic’s ensuing possession, effectively sealing the outcome.
He was issued a technical foul for arguing a no-call on his drive to the basket on the missed layup.
Reaves made the technical free throw plus 2 more after Fultz committed a take foul.
Banchero’s technical came in what was a frustrating game for Orlando. The Lakers shot 26-of-32 on free throws, including 16-of-18 by Reaves, compared to the Magic’s 13-of-17.
The Magic wrapped up the West Coast trip 1-3 after starting the swing with losses to the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday and Phoenix Suns Thursday before beating the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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