Despite leading by as many as 14 points, the Los Angeles Lakers lost 103-97 to the Orlando Magic in overtime on a fluky Friday night in Florida.
With the Magic having lost 10 games in a row, Friday night fit into the mold of loss no. 11 of the losing streak. The Lakers relied on their point guards to carry the scoring burden early.
In the first half, Jordan Clarkson and Jeremy Lin combined for 23 points to help the Lakers to a 14-point halftime lead. However, Orlando came out of the locker room fighting in the third quarter. The Magic scored 31 points in the third period, and the Lakers may well have given up their entire 14-point lead had forward Ryan Kelly not suddenly found his place in the Lakers' offense.
Kelly heated up from deep and scored 15 points in the third quarter. Kelly had only managed 11 points in his past five games combined. Thanks to Kelly's key contribution, the Lakers maintained a nine-point edge entering the fourth quarter.
But the Magic's intentions had become clear. Less than four minutes into the fourth quarter, the Magic took the lead. Stil, the Lakers did not break at the first sign of durress, and the final seven minutes of regulation featured neither team leading by more than two points.
With the score tied at 91-91, the Lakers managed to completely throw away two possessions in the final 30 seconds and force the game to overtime. First, Clarkson ran down the clock and attempted a long 27-foot three-pointer that missed the mark, to put it mildly. Then, Wesley Johnson miraculously came up with the rebound and gave the ball up to Wayne Ellington.
Rather than run a play or attack the basket, the Lakers opted to launch another three pointer. Ellington's shot initially appeared to be blocked. However, he got another look at the basket, and his second off-balance attempt did not inspire hope.
The Lakers and Magic entered overtime. For the Lakers, Friday night would be the third time in the past four games that extra periods were required to decide the affair. Counting the double overtime period against Chicago, the Lakers had played four overtimes in the past four games.
In Friday's overtime, LA continued to flutter, as Magic forward Tobias Harris only grew stronger. Harris scored four points in the overtime to bring his grand total to 34 points for the night. Victor Oladipo also stepped forward to add four points of his own in the extra period, as the second-year guard finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Magic outscored the Lakers 12-6 in overtime.
Although Nikola Vucevic did not score in the final five minutes, the Magic's center finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds and played a vital role in breaking Orlando's 10-game losing streak.
The Lakers lost their third game in a row and remain win-less on their Grammy's road trip. Next, the Lakers will wrap up their trip in Cleveland against LeBron James and the Cavaliers on Sunday.
Notes: Nick Young struggled and failed to score. He finished 0-6 on the night. Lin finished with 14 points on 6-8 shooting. Carlos Boozer continued to be productive off the bench with 14 points. Kelly finished with a team-high 20 points.
