LOS ANGELES — The Orlando Magic, one of the league’s best defensive teams, were struggling to find answers to slow the Lakers’ offense on Thursday night.
The Lakers, one of the league’s best offenses, scored 67 first-half points against the Magic and their 74th point early in the third when Anthony Davis made a floater with 9:34 left in the quarter, giving the Lakers a nine-point lead.
But once the Magic went from playing man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone, the Lakers’ offensive momentum slowed.
The ball and player movement weren’t as crisp, especially in their first couple of possessions against Orlando’s zone defense. The Magic were able to slow the Lakers’ offense down to their preferred pace.
Shots the Lakers are usually comfortable with stopped falling, leading to the them scoring just 14 points in the final 9½ minutes of the third quarter. The Lakers were outscored by 10 points and shot 27.8% (5 for 18) in that stretch as part of a quarter they lost 29-21 in a 119-118 loss to the Magic for their first home defeat of the season.
“They disrupted the flow, as zone can do sometimes,” Coach JJ Redick said. “They were having a hard time stopping us. To be honest with you, I don’t feel like it disrupted us for more than a couple of possessions. I know we didn’t score for a stretch there, but we got good shots. Those first couple of possessions weren’t great. It kind of took us aback a little bit and then we were able to execute against it, but it was just that stretch there where we struggled to score.”
That 9½-minute stretch also helped the Magic attack a weakness the Lakers had improved in recently but struggled with during portions of Thursday’s game: transition defense.
Even though Orlando only finished with 14 fast-break points and five in the third, the Magic made the Lakers pay when their offense didn’t produce – a common tactic of many of the Lakers’ opponents, recognizing their struggles in this area.
“Frankly, we just weren’t getting stops,” Redick said. “Which you get stops, then you’re playing against man in early offense.”
HACHIMURA RETURN
Rui Hachimura wasn’t on the team’s injury report for Saturday night’s home game against the Denver Nuggets, meaning he’ll be available after missing the previous four games because of a sprained left ankle.
Hachimura, a starter in the first 10 games he was available, averaged 12.7 points (50% shooting from 3-point range) and 6.1 rebounds before being sidelined with the injury.
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Lakers’ Dalton Knecht making the most of his shot
Rookie wing Dalton Knecht has thrived while starting in place of Hachimura, averaging 23.8 points on 60.3% shooting (57.6% from behind the arc) and 4.8 rebounds in the four games Hachimura sat out.
Redick said ahead of Thursday’s loss that he expects Hachimura will return to the starting unit but that coaches will try to incorporate longer stretches for Knecht off the bench.
“My expectation is that Rui would stay in the starting lineup,” Redick said. “He’s been awesome for us and for the group, whatever role as a starter – I know I talked about that not being a role – but whatever designation Dalton has, whether he’s coming off of the bench or as a starter, I don’t think his role changes at all. And I think for him mentally, there’s no effect to that. He’s just going to be the same guy. We have to, as a coaching staff, we have to be cognizant about getting him longer stretches on the court.”
NUGGETS AT LAKERS
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet, NBA TV/710 AM