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The Lakers arrived in Orlando looking to get back on track after losing to the Toronto Raptors, but it was anything but in a horrifying 127-105 loss to the Magic.
Orlandop seemed like the perfect team for the Lakers to get another win on the road. The Magic have the worst record in the league, they give up the most points in the paint in the NBA (a strength for the Lakers) and they were missing four starting players (Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross and Jonathan Isaac.)
Elfrid Payton and the Magic kept the Lakers from getting the ball out in transition and were aggressive offensively, shooting 12 free throws in the first quarter. The Lakers got a little burst from their bench at the end of the quarter cutting the lead to 25-29, but they were struggling out of the gates.
In the second quarter, the purple and gold still looked like they were moving in slow motion on both ends of the floor. Orlando might have owned the worst record in the league and had four players out of their lineup, but the Lakers managed to make their team look like All-Stars. Players like Mo Speights and Jonathan Simmons had their way with the Lakers. Speights and Simmons combined for 15 points on 50 percent shooting and got to the line a combined six times.
Jordan Clarkson, Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle were heavily relied on to produce some offense to keep the Lakers in the game. Clarkson showed off his ability to bail out his team when the shot clock is running low, scoring 20 points on 50 percent shooting. Unlike his teammate, Kuzma scored 11 points, going 5-of-13 from the field on the night. Lastly, Randle sought to attack the weak Orlando frontcourt, and he did it with success. Randle scored 20 points and brought down nine rebounds.
The Lakers started the second half seeming content with the effort they put forth in the first half. The Magic instantly turned their seven-point lead into 12 point lead, keeping the Lakers on their heels with their three-point shot and ability to get to the rim. With the Lakers on life support, yet again, Clarkson tried to keep his team alive by fighting through screens, going to the charity stripe and by creating shots out of thin air. Still, the Magic stayed to course and kept firing away from beyond the arc, which led them to score 43 points (shooting nine for 13 from downtown) in the third quarter.
The embarrassment continued into the final frame, with the Lakers continuing to miss shots and turnover the ball when they were not missing shots. By the start of the fourth quarter, you could feel that this game was all by over. At least there was a Thomas Bryant sighting, and there was a circus shot made by Randle, but all-in-all this game was a complete disaster for the Lakers.