LeBron pushes Lakers to win against Magic

LOS ANGELES (News4usonline) – The Orlando Magic has the second-worse record in the NBA. And yet by halftime of their outing against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Magic found themselves leading their NBA game that was played at Staples Center.

Have no fears Lakers fans, LeBron James is still rolling.

So, James hitched up his giddy-up in the third quarter to score 14 of his game-high 30 points to lead the Lakers to a 106-94 win. After absorbing an unexpected loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, James has spurred the Lakers in the last two games, scoring 33 points in the team’s win against the Oklahoma City Thunder and being the leading scorer against the Magic.

Granted, neither of these teams will have the Phoenix Suns nor the Golden State Warriors shaking in their boots when the postseason rolls around. For the Lakers this season, no game should be taken for granted when you look at how they have played thus far this season.

The win against Orlando put the Lakers two games above .500, something that is somewhat shocking considering the All-Star mega-talent on the team’s roster. All of the bumbling and stumbling the team has done up to this point probably won’t matter in the grand scheme of things when the playoffs arrive.

If the postseason were to start today, the Lakers would be the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. It’s a good thing the postseason doesn’t start today because the Lakers clearly need to clean up a few things. Fixing the turnover issue would be one area for the Lakers to get better at.

Of the 30 teams in the NBA, the Lakers have the third-worst ratio in the league (No. 28) when it comes to turning the ball over. As a team, the Lakers flip the ball to the other team 16 times per contest, not exactly a recipe for a winning formula.

Frank Vogel and his squad shouldn’t feel too bad because the Warriors, which has the second-best record in the Western Conference is No. 29 on that list.

Unfortunately, guard Russell Westbrook is No. 2 on the turnover list with an average of 4.64 miscues a game. Westbrook tallied five turnovers against Orlando, but as a team, the Lakers only committed 13 unforced errors. The Lakers had five turnovers in the third quarter, but that didn’t matter.

With James dialed in offensively, the Lakers overtook Orlando’s 52-49 halftime lead and exploded for 36 points in the period to take control of the game. James and the Lakers shot 65 percent from the field in the third quarter. The period also turned out to be one where Orlando could not find its shooting touch.

The Magic made just two of their 23 field goal attempts in the period. That would equate to just 8.7 percent shooting from the field. That would be your ballgame. Orlando did regroup to score 32 points in the fourth quarter, but by then the Lakers were already on next game mode.

With forward Anthony Davis out, it was incumbent that someone pick up his soring load. Westbrook scored 19 points as did Talen Horton Tucker. But it was the play of James, who secured a triple-double on the night, that carried the Lakers to their 15th win (15-13) of the season. The Lakers went 6 of 10 from three-point range in the third quarter while the Magic misfired on all of its seven treys (0-7) as Los Angeles grabbed the momentum.

Featured Image Caption: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James going to the basket for two points against the Orlando Magic on December 12, 2021. Photo by Dennis J. Freeman/News4usonline