The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off their first road trip of the season with a disappointing 120-101 loss to the Orlando Magic. Throughout the game, the Lakers struggled to gain control, with a significant rebounding deficit (51-40), allowing 36 second-chance points, and committing 17 turnovers.

The Lakers’ seven-game winning streak against the Magic came to an end in this contest, and the season series with Orlando concluded at 1-1.

There was a silver lining for the Lakers as Austin Reaves displayed a strong performance, scoring 20 points on 7-11 shooting. Anthony Davis also had an exceptional performance, contributing 28 points and securing 13 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds out of the team’s total of ten.

The Lakers will continue their road trip with a game against the Miami Heat on Monday.

The Lakers’ ongoing struggles in the first quarter persisted in this game, as they allowed 39 points in the opening frame. Orlando took control when the Lakers employed a three-big lineup of Anthony Davis, Jaxson Hayes, and Christian Wood, which was first used against the Los Angeles Clippers and led to a comeback victory. However, in this game, the Lakers were outscored 19-3 in the first quarter.

Despite Orlando going through a five-minute field goal drought during the second quarter, the Lakers couldn’t narrow the gap. The Lakers’ difficulties with offensive rebounds continued as they only grabbed one offensive board in the first two quarters, resulting in just seven second-chance points, in stark contrast to Orlando’s 26.

To start the third quarter, Anthony Davis took on a more aggressive role to jump-start the Lakers’ offense, scoring 11 points in the quarter. However, Paolo Banchero’s strong performance for Orlando prevented the Lakers from making a comeback. The Magic extended their lead to as much as 25 points in the third.

In the final quarter, the Lakers made one last attempt to mount a comeback, keeping Davis and LeBron James on the floor. They got within 13 points, but a Cole Anthony three-pointer with 4:04 remaining sealed the Lakers’ loss, prompting them to pull their two starters and empty their bench.

Key Takeaways

The Lakers’ struggles were on full display in this defeat, with issues such as a slow start, poor rebounding, and a lack of three-point efficiency contributing to their road loss to Orlando.

There is hope for the Lakers to improve as they may receive reinforcements with the potential return of Rui Hachimura and Taurean Prince by Monday’s game against the Miami Heat, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT and available for viewing on NBA TV. If these players are not available, Coach Ham will have to make on-the-fly adjustments with a limited roster to prevent the Lakers from falling to a 3-4 record on the season.