Botched final play between Luka, LeBron dooms Lakers vs. Magic - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers lost to the Orlando Magic 110-109 on Tuesday after a botched sidelines out-of-bounds play between LeBron James and Luka Doncic in the final seconds failed to produce a quality shot.

After Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. scored on a putback with 6.7 seconds remaining to put Orlando up one, L.A. called timeout. On the ensuing play, James passed the ball to an open Doncic, who caught it on the left wing beyond the 3-point line but opted not to shoot.

«I know I was open, but I just thought I was a little bit far,» Doncic said. «Tried to take one dribble closer. And I probably shouldn't have picked up the ball and just tried to attack.»

Once he stopped his dribble, Doncic was immediately double-teamed by the Magic's Paolo Banchero and Anthony Black. He paused, pivoted and passed the ball back to James, who was covered by Orlando's Jonathan Isaac on the wing.

James caught the pass with 2.9 seconds left, turned away from Isaac and shot a 27-foot fadeaway 3-pointer that missed at the buzzer.

«I thought he had a good look, and it looked like he kind of just lost his balance,» James said when asked for an explanation of what broke down. «Didn't have a rhythm with the ball, whatever the case may be. And it kind of allowed [Orlando's defense] to get back in front of him. And I was kind of off-balance when he gave it to me. I thought he had a great look. That's my POV.»

Doncic, who was 8-for-24 for the game and 2-for-10 from 3, was asked if his shooting struggles entered his mind when he turned down the initial shot.

«Maybe a little bit,» he said. «I think I thought it was more time. It was, what, six, seven seconds. It was enough time to get a better look, try to drive the ball, so that's why I picked [up my