Things have turned completely around for the Los Angeles Lakers over the last three weeks or so. After losing five of seven games in February, they won 11 of their next 12 and took an eight-game winning streak into Central Florida on Saturday for a matchup against the Orlando Magic.
One of those five aforementioned losses came to the Magic after the Lakers blew a double-digit lead. In Saturday’s contest, Los Angeles got out to a 14-point first-quarter lead, but Orlando erased that lead and took one of its own in the second period thanks to its offensive rebounding and overall physicality. The rest of this game had almost as many twists and turns as a thrill ride at Walt Disney World, and that set the scene for a tumultuous finish.
With 50 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, L.A. was down 104-99 and was having trouble finding the basket, especially from the outside. Austin Reaves quickly drove the lane and scored on a layup to cut the deficit to three. Desmond Bane missed for Orlando, and center Deandre Ayton was fouled with 5.5 seconds left. He made his first free throw, and he tried to intentionally miss his second, but he airballed that attempt.
The Magic got the ball back, but guard Jalen Suggs botched the inbounds pass, giving the Lakers another opportunity. On their inbounds pass, LeBron James got free near the basket, but his layup attempt was blocked by Paolo Banchero. With 2.6 seconds left, the Lakers had one more chance, down 104-102. This time, the ball went to Luke Kennard, the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter, and he threw a dagger through the heart of Central Florida to give them a 105-104 victory.
LUKE KENNARD FOR THE WIN!!!! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/eVMYKKYSmx
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 22, 2026
This game wasn’t a thing of beauty. The second half was infested with many foul calls and stoppages in action, while L.A. shot 44.8% from the field and 25% from 3-point range for the game. After giving up lots of offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities early, L.A. actually ended up plus-one in rebounding, and it led 52-36 in points in the paint and 19-11 in fast-break points.
The Lakers now have a 46-25 record, and as the Western Conference’s third-place team, they lead the fourth-place Houston Rockets as of this writing by three games.
Marcus Smart: D
Smart momentarily left the court and went to the locker room during the second quarter with what appeared to be a groin ailment. Offensively, he was a non-factor in this game. He missed all three of his shot attempts and scored two points on free throws, and he also had one rebound, one assist and one steal.
Defensively, he helped force Bane, who came into this game averaging 20.6 points a game, into a 4-of-14 clunker that limited him to 12 points. Bane also committed five turnovers in this contest.
Deandre Ayton: B
Ayton was involved offensively early, and he got a couple of easy alley-oop buckets in the opening minutes of this game. Overall, he scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds, and he had a couple of important offensive rebounds down the stretch to give the Lakers extra possessions.
Austin Reaves: A-minus
Reaves shot badly in his previous three games, but he mostly returned to form on Saturday. While he went just 2-of-8 from downtown, the rest of his game was up to par. He made half of his 20 overall shot attempts and scored 26 points, with 11 of those points coming in the fourth quarter, and he even threw down a surprising dunk on a fast break in the first quarter. Reaves also helped out with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block in 40 minutes.
LeBron James: C
James didn’t make much of an impact in this game. He scored just four points in the first half, and he never asserted himself that much. He ended up with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting, to go along with six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 34 minutes.
Luka Doncic: B-minus
Doncic scored 16 points in the first quarter, and he had 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting in the first half. But he was just 2-of-13 in the second half, and while he scored 33 points, he was just 12-of-30 overall and 3-of-13 from beyond the arc.
But he did score an important bucket with 1:32 left in the fourth quarter to bring Los Angeles to within one point. He had five rebounds, eight assists, four steals and one block to help the team in other areas.
Unfortunately, Doncic received his 16th technical foul in this game, which means that he’s going to face an automatic one-game suspension, per NBA rules. It happened late in the third quarter when he and Magic big man Goga Bitadze were called for double technical fouls after the two had a verbal exchange. Unless his technical foul is rescinded by the league, Doncic will be unavailable for one upcoming Lakers game.
Luke Kennard: A
Kennard was the hero of this game thanks to his last-second 3-pointer, but overall, he played an excellent game.
After going 4-of-15 overall in his previous five games, he made five of his seven shot attempts and three of his four 3-point tries on Saturday, giving him 13 points in 20 minutes. He also grabbed three rebounds, and he reminded people that he’s more than a 3-point specialist by scoring a couple of layups.
Jaxson Hayes: A
Hayes’ energy was high in this game, and it resulted in him putting up strong numbers. He got 19 minutes of playing time and scored eight points while snatching seven rebounds and blocking three shots.
Rui Hachimura: D
Hachimura played 15 minutes in this game, but it almost seemed as if he wasn’t ever on the court. He got up just two shot attempts and made one of them, and he finished with two points, one rebound and one block.
Jake LaRavia: D-minus
LaRavia’s offensive struggles just won’t end. He missed all five of his shot attempts, and he even missed a couple of layups. He ended up going scoreless and had one rebound and one steal.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: Luke Kennard gives L.A. ninth straight win
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