The Los Angeles Lakers ended their eight-game homestand on a down note with a 110-109 loss to the Orlando Magic after LeBron James missed a three at the buzzer.
Los Angeles went 4-4 during this stretch of games at Crypto.com Arena, including back-to-back losses against the Magic and Boston Celtics.
Even though James took the final shot, it was set up after Luka Dončić passed up what appeared to be an open look when he caught the inbounds pass with 6.7 seconds remaining.
It didn’t help matters that James was the one who through the inbounds pass and seemed to be expecting Dončić to take the shot. When it didn’t happen and the clock was ticking down, James attempted to find an opening that wasn’t really there because Jonathan Isaac was right in front of him when he got the ball.
The final play led to criticism of Dončić from fans and analysts for passing up the type of shot he has taken many times throughout his storied career.
It was a rough shooting night for Dončić even before the final play. He scored 22 points on 8-of-24 shooting, marking his second-lowest point total of the season in a game that he played at least 30 minutes.
Dončić did contribute 15 assists and nine rebounds, but it was the play he didn’t make in the key moment that stood out. James also had an odd game because he was efficient as a scorer with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, but he had more turnovers (five) than assists (four).
The defense held up pretty well against the Magic, limiting them to just 45.7 percent shooting overall and 7-of-29 from three. But Paolo Banchero really stepped up with 36 points to lead Orlando to its sixth win in the last eight games.
Back-to-back losses have dropped the Lakers to 34-23 overall. They have fallen to sixth in the Western Conference, one game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Dončić, James and the Lakers will have an off day Wednesday to regroup before taking on the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET.