The Lakers, who have won and lost one-and-no-1 in the just-concluded back-to-back game, are back at home to sit at staples center to take on the visiting Orlando Magic. In this game, Anthony Davis continued to be absent due to a knee injury, and Howard continued to start. After the game began, the Lakers quickly got into shape, playing a 9-3 start that forced the Magic to shout a timeout. But after the timeout, the Magic regained form to play a 19:4 climax, reversing the score in one fell swoop to end the quarter at 25:18. In the second quarter, the Lakers once again lined up James's super small lineup in the fifth position, and their offensive and defensive efficiency was significantly improved compared to the first quarter. James' top-notch conversion ability in the league helped the Lakers quickly reverse the score with a small lineup. However, after James went off, the Lakers failed to maintain excellent defensive efficiency, and the Magic hit three consecutive three-pointers to pull the score slightly. In the final attack of the second quarter, Westbrook injured his ankle when he landed on the basket.
In the third quarter of the game, Westbrook continued to play without a major injury. Led by James in excellent form, the Lakers played the best defense of the season so far. The Magic shot just three of 21 shots in the third quarter and missed a goal in more than eight minutes. The Lakers pulled the score to double digits in one fell swoop, entering the fourth quarter with a score of 85:62. After the start of the fourth quarter, the Magic regained their touch to play an offensive climax, quickly filling the pit dug in the third quarter with a wave of 23:8, and the Lakers' lead narrowed to only ten points several times. Fortunately, James and Rivers hit key three-pointers several times to maintain the advantage of the score until the end of the game. In the end, the Lakers defeated the Magic 106:94. Throughout the game, James had a triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Westbrook had 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, Anthony had 13 points and Tucker had 19 points and 6 steals.
Apparently, the team-wide power outage in Tuesday night's game against the Grizzlies was an accident. As the oldest team in the league, the Lakers' "old guys" quickly improved their form and regained the good game form they have maintained since mid-November. In this game, the Lakers once again came up with the "19-20 season version of defense" in the third quarter, and the Magic only got ten points.
Although Anthony Davis was injured, the good form of the rest of the Lakers players made fans expect more from the team. James scored again with 30+points and a triple-double, and the 37-year-old proved to people after his attendance was stable that he was still the league's top star. Youngster Tucker's state has also bottomed out, and the defensive problems that have been criticized for a long time are slowly improving. Facing Doncic's Lone Ranger two days later, the Lakers will face another tough test after losing the Clippers. Do fans and friends think that the current Lakers can break their wrists with their opponents when they face their playoff opponents? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!