Orlando Magic (31-26) beat Los Angeles Lakers (34-23) 110-109 on the road on Tuesday, February 24, after falling far behind. The Magic were down 8 at one quarter break and still finished 1 ahead.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Lakers struck first, taking the opening quarter 33-25 and a 8-point lead after one. The Magic cut into the deficit with a 28-23 second quarter, though the Lakers still led by 3 at halftime.
The Magic won the third 26-24 to stay in front, taking a 1-point lead into the fourth. The Magic took the fourth 31-29; the Magic completed the comeback for a 110-109 regulation win.
What flipped it
The Magic grabbed 27.3% of their own misses, while the Lakers recovered 16.7%. The Magic took better care of the ball, turning it over on 9.8% of possessions compared with 12% for the Lakers. In a 1-point game, the second chances kept adding up.
The Lakers did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 24.1 against 18.1. The Magic made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 101 possessions per team, the Magic produced 108.7 points per 100 possessions to 107.7 for the Lakers.
Who carried the comeback
Paolo Banchero was the game's biggest individual force for ORL: 36 pts, 10 reb, 6 ast on 12-22 shooting. His Game Score of 27.8 led everyone. His team was +6 with him on the floor.
Deandre Ayton led the Lakers with 21 pts, 13 reb, 0 ast on 8-11 shooting, good for a 19 Game Score.
Deandre Ayton (21 pts, 13 reb, 0 ast), Luka Doncic (22 pts, 9 reb, 15 ast), and Paolo Banchero (36 pts, 10 reb, 6 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Magic entered with about a 35% chance.
Across the last 2 meetings in our records, Orlando Magic lead 2-0.
The Magic are now 31-26, and the Lakers are 34-23. The Magic last five before this game: W-L-W-L-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.