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The Los Angeles Lakers held off the Orlando Magic in a 103-94 victory in a battle between two of the NBA's bottom teams. Jordan Hill was spectacular, filling up a career-high 28 points with 13 rebounds to go with it. The Lakers came out of halftime looking disoriented, but a strong fourth quarter wrapped up their first win since Mar. 9.
Pau Gasol did not play in the second half, sitting out after feeling nauseous and dizzy. Steve Nash missed the game after tweaking his back for roughly the bajilliionth time over the past two seasons. Nick Young scored 26 points, hoisting up 17 shots including a late three-ball from way downtown to help put the game out of reach.
Kendall Marshall looked out of sorts, turning the ball over five times. Three of those TO's came in the third quarter, and his ball mishandling skills nearly cost the Lakers a rare win. The fans got tacos, and as Stu Lantz And Billy 'Mac alluded, there have not been many tacos for Staples this season. Who can I commission for a "Tacos over the years" infographic?
A win's a win, and there aren't many games left to collect those shiny W's. There are 13 games left in the season with only seven of them being played in Los Angeles. The 2013-2014 Lakers have almost come to an end, and it's looking more and more like they'll end up with a bottom-eight record instead of a bottom-four after a win over Orlando.
Next up is Tuesday with a final visit with Carmelo Anthony before he potentially hits free agency and becomes the center of the next Lakers rumor cycle. There are still games with ping-pong implications with the Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks also in the pipeline to close out the season.
So, a new career-high for Jordan Hill, tacos, and a final piece of journalism from the great Dave McMenamin on the locker room after the game.
Nick Young on the locker room atmosphere after the win: "I seen people jumping around w/ no clothes on. Not naming names, but Jordan Hill"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 24, 2014