The Lakers and Magic played today in a game that had the intensity of a playoff game. Both L.A and Orlando are looking up to Cleveland in different races for home court, and every game down the stretch will be important. Early on, the Magic seemed to have the Lakers number, using various high pick and rolls to frustrate the champs interior defense. There was quite a bit of aggressive fouls throughout the game, as Matt Barnes and Kobe Bryant exchanged words and some hard fouls.
As the 4th quarter began, the Lakers came out on fire, erasing a double digit deficit to get back in the game, thanks to an early 8-0 run to start the quarter. Down the stretch, both teams traded baskets for much of the quarter, but in the biggest exchange of the game, Kobe Bryant missed what would have been a game tying 3, and then Matt Barnes on the next possession drained a huge 3 to extend the lead to 6. Kobe did have a chance late to be the hero, however a missed shot at the buzzer secured the 96-94 win for Orlando.
The Lakers loss drops them to 46-18, and narrows their lead in the West to only 3 games over the Mavericks and Nuggets. Meanwhile, Orlando improves to 44-20, and within 5 games of the Cavs, but more breathing room between Orlando and Boston for the 2nd seed overall.
This 3 game losing streak by the Lakers is the first of it’s kind since the franchise traded for Pau Gasol over 2 years ago. While some die hard fans dismissed the losses to the Heat and Bobcats late last week, you can’t overstate the fact this Lakers team “right now” is not better than the championship team of last year, and their Western conference foes have improved. The Mavericks and Nuggets are both capable of extending the Lakers deep in the postseason, and some feel could defeat L.A(as shown in the poll on the page).
Is there time to worry in Laker land? The champs head back home for 1 game against Toronto, followed by road battles at Phoenix, Golden State, and Sacramento, and a home against the Wolves and Wizards. The next two weeks could easily see Kobe’s group win 5 of the next 6, and all talk about troubles could go away.
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