The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 1-6 in road contests, losing by double digits (again) to the Orlando Magic, by the final score of 92 to 80. It was a story that isn't just familiar, it practically writes itself. Poor rebounding, terrible shooting, and a horrid inability to score or have a semblance of successful offense besides the good work provided by Kobe Bryant. Kobe was efficient (30 points on 25 possessions) AND generous (8 assists, and he could have had a dozen more), but nobody else on the team seemed capable of putting that orange ball through the similarly colored circle, no matter how far away a Magic defender was. Kobe's only misstep was picking up a technical foul as the Lakers built momentum for a 4th quarter comeback. The momentum killer quickly resulted in the Magic building the lead back up to 15, and sealed the game in Orlando's favor.
Orlando, for their part, did Orlando things to win this game. They shot 44% from three point range as a team, bombing early and often, and Dwight Howard scored two less points and picked up one more rebound than the Lakers' pair of star bigs could manage combined. Howard had Bynum in foul trouble from the get go, and, one game sample size and all, showed just how ludicrous the concept of Bynum being in the same echelon as Howard truly is. But tonight's game never hinged on Bynum. It hinged on Gasol, who was supposed to have the more beneficial matchup and needed to be the one who took advantage. He failed to do so, though he did some good work in the 2nd half passing out of the high post.
Still, it's another loss, another unsurprising loss, another blowout loss which provided none of the benefits a blow out ls supposed to (i.e. shortened minutes for a depleted starting core). The times, they aren't the greatest right now for the purple and gold.