On Thursday night, the Lakers were at home to face the Magic. Los Angeles came into the matchup on a six-game win streak. LeBron James and Anthony Davis delivered strong performances vs. the Magic. James had 31 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.
Davis had 39 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. However, the big man missed two massive free throws that would have essentially iced the game for Los Angeles. Orlando had no timeouts with less than 20 seconds left in the game and Davis missed two free throws that would have given the Lakers a four-point advantage. Instead, the Magic got the defensive rebound on the missed free throw, and Franz Wagner nailed a 26-foot three-pointer to win the game 119-118 for Orlando. That was a game the Lakers should have won.
Anthony Davis missed two clutch free throws for the Lakers in their loss to the Magic on Thursday
Anthony Davis and LeBron James delivered strong performances, but missed free throws late cost the Lakers their first home loss of the season:
AD 📊 39 PTS | 14-22 FG | 10-13 FT | 9 REB | 3 BLK
Bron 📊 31 PTS | 12-22 FG | 5-9 3PT | 10 REB | 8 ASTMissed opportunities at the… pic.twitter.com/39VItdPcJL
— BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) November 22, 2024
After a loss to the Magic on Thursday, the Lakers are 10-5 this season. That is fourth in the Western Conference. Early in the 2024-25 season, there’s no questioning who the team’s best player is. LeBron James is still one of the all-time greats, but Anthony Davis is the straw that stirs the drink for Los Angeles. In 14 games this season, he’s averaging (31.3) points, (11.2) rebounds, (2.8) assists, (1.2) steals, and (1.9) blocks.
The (31.3) points per game is the highest so far of Davis’ career but the Lakers still have 67 games left to play. On Thursday, the team lost a winnable game vs. the Magic. Orlando had no timeouts left and had to foul a player to stop the clock. It happened to be Anthony Davis. He had the chance to make two free throws and have a four-point lead. Instead, the big man missed two free throws and the Magic collected the rebound on the second miss. Franz Wagner of the Magic hit a stepback three and won the game 119-118 for the Magic. All Davis had to do was hit one of those free throws and the game would have at least gone to OT. Los Angeles is at home on Saturday night to face the Nuggets.
