Nikola Vucevic continues to show the league why he is All-Star worthy with a huge win against the Los Angeles Lakers to bring the Orlando Magic to 10-10.
The Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-104 to record the franchise’s second ever season sweep against the Lakers on Sunday at the Staples Center.
The Magic were up by as much as 15 points at the end of the third quarter. But they squandered the lead late as LeBron James completed two free throws to tie the game with just more than two minutes left.
The Lakers were scoreless after LeBron James’ foul shots though as Terrence Ross‘ lay-up put the game away with 30 seconds to spare shortly after.
Los Angeles (11-8) is now 7-2 in there last 9 games with both losses coming at Orlando’s hands. The Magic now gets back to .500 (10-10).
The Orlando Magic lost an ugly one to the Denver Nuggets on Friday 112-87, and it seemed LeBron and company would come back to provide another disheartening loss. It felt that way too with the Lakers opening up as much as a 12-point lead in the first quarter. Orlando’s lethargic start looked similar to much of that Denver game with Los Angeles parading through the lane and the foul line.
But Orlando stayed resilient. Nikola Vucevic even mentioned postgame in an interview with FOX Sports Florida’s Dante Marchitelli they had a good practice yesterday, which certainly seemed needed after Friday’s debacle. They bounced back, outscoring the Lakers 35-19 in the third quarter to take firm control of the game.
They hung on from there, executing well on defense to close out after the Lakers tied it.
It is refreshing to see them close out a tough matchup like the Lakers on the road.
The Orlando Magic take on the Golden State Warriors on Monday at Oracle Arena.