ORLANDO, Fla. — For the first time in a couple of weeks, the Lakers didn’t have it on Saturday night.
Whether it was the fatigue of playing their third game in four nights, the wear and tear of playing against a young and physical Magic team, or simply just an off night, the Lakers didn’t sustain the energy and hot shooting they had early against the Magic.
It didn’t look like it was going to be their night, but then Luke Kennard saved the day, nailing a game-winning 3-pointer to lift the Lakers to a 105-104 victory over the Magic at Kia Center.
“It definitely felt good when it left my hand,” Kennard said. “I thought it was good. It’s a big moment. It’s kinda hard to explain the feeling when you’re in that position, but when it went in, it felt pretty good.”
After the Lakers’ initial opportunity to take a go-ahead lead was stopped, with LeBron James’ layup with the Lakers down 104-102 with 2.6 seconds being blocked from behind by Paolo Banchero, the Lakers got another shot at it.
In a baseline out-of-bounds play that was drawn up by assistant coach Greg St. Jean, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and James lined up above the 3-point arc while Kennard was in the strongside corner closest to Marcus Smart, who inbounded the ball.
Kennard came off a screen from Reaves and cut above the 3-point arc while Doncic cut toward the ball and James cut toward the basket.
James’ cut drew in both his and Kennard’s defender, leaving Kennard so wide open that he adjusted the shooting sleeve on his non-shooting arm (right) before hitting the go-ahead bucket with 0.6 seconds left on the clock.
“As soon as he caught it and then released it,” coach JJ Redick said. “Everybody knew it was in.”
Jalen Suggs’ 69-footer before the buzzer fell short, giving Kennard the second game-winner of his nine-year NBA career and his first since being traded to the Lakers last month.
Kennard was mobbed by his teammates as soon as the final buzzer sounded, with James catching him mid-air as Kennard jumped to celebrate.
“I didn’t really know what was going on, I was just screaming,” Kennard said. “I remember somebody, I don’t know who it was, somebody picked me up. But it was really cool. It’s a cool moment. Haven’t had many like that in the NBA, I don’t think. It means a lot how excited everybody was. I felt that. And again, just to win a game like that is pretty special and just shows what we have in the locker room.
After Doncic led the Lakers to a 37-point first quarter, scoring nearly half (16) of his scoring total (33) in the opening period, he and the team went cold.
The Lakers shot 23 of 64 (35.9%) from the field in the final three quarters, helping the Magic take a 65-62 lead going into halftime.
But they didn’t let that derail them.
And Kennard (13 points off the bench), who had been in a shooting slump entering the weekend, hit the game’s biggest shots
In addition to his scoring total, Doncic had eight assists, five rebounds and four steals.
Reaves added 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. James finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
What it means
The Lakers won their ninth consecutive game, their best winning streak since the 2019-20 season, moving to 46-25.
They also secured an above. 500 record for the ongoing six-game trip by winning the first four games of the swing.
Turning point
With the Lakers down 104-102, James forced a crucial stop by preventing Banchero to catch the ball on a Magic inbounds play with just over four seconds left in the game.
The Magic challenged the play feeling the ball went off James and not Banchero, but the challenge was unsuccessful, setting up the Lakers’ final two plays.
In a pool report, Crew Chief Marc Davis stated, “There was not clear and conclusive evidence to overturn the on-court ruling.”
MVP: Luke Kennard
The reserve guard not only made the biggest shot of the game but also went 5 of 7 from the field, and 3 of 4 on 3s, to keep the Lakers in the game.
He entered Saturday 3 of 14 on 3s over the previous six games.
Stat of the game: 10
That was the number of free throws the Lakers missed against the Magic, going 19 of 29.
Saturday continued a pattern of the Lakers struggling from the charity stripe every other game.
They shot 17 of 26 (65.4%) on free throws in the March 14 home win over the Nuggets. Two games later, the Lakers made 17 of their 27 free-throw attempts (63%) in Wednesday’s win over the Rockets.
Up next
The Lakers will continue their six-game trip with a matchup against the Pistons on Monday.
The Pistons lead the East at 51-19 but will be without All-Star guard Cade Cunningham, who is sidelined because of a collapsed lung.
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