The Lakers’ loss to the Magic is a reminder that the team still has a lot to prove

LOS ANGELES — While losses are common in every NBA season, the Lakers’ six-game winning streak ended with a brutal 119-118 loss to the Magic on Thursday night.

The Lakers went 2-6 from the free throw line in the final 40 seconds of a game they lost by just one point.

“Every loss is frustrating,” JJ Redick said after the game. “There are certain losses that you could point to a lack of will and competitiveness and physicality to start a game and then you have to fight against that and we’ve had that for a few.

“The Phoenix game and this game where it comes down to late game and it can swing on a few plays and honestly, it swung on our missed free throws tonight.”

Many will look to Anthony Davis for the blame for this loss, considering he went 1-4 from the charity stripe and missed the game-winner on the final possession, but it was the series of preceding events that suggested this outcome.

“We got outscored 29-21 (in the third quarter),” LeBron James said. “We had a seven-point lead at halftime and they took the lead in the third, so it’s a lot of game between games. You can’t just point to one thing.”

Such a scoring drought might have been in order against the sub-500 opponents they defeated during this streak, such as. Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors. However, the Magic showed that against top-level competition, such a lack of execution could prove costly.

The Magic were dominant on the boards, outscoring LA 48-36. Franz Wagner took center stage and pulled down 11 rebounds while also scoring 37 points, including the game-winning stepback 3-pointer over Cam Reddish.

Orlando is a physical team with players like Wagner and Jalen Suggs roaming the court, and they were as good as advertised during this game.

“They’re super physical,” Dalton Knecht said after the loss. “They came out and pretty much from the jump, they crashed the boards hard and I think that’s something we have to emphasize in the next game is to crash the boards and make sure we get the ball so we can come out in transition. That’s when we play our best.”

The frustration from a game that would have been a great win but ended up as a disappointing loss was palpable. Fans left quietly after cheering loudly minutes ago for LeBron 3-pointers and some impressive finishes at the rim by AD.

Postgame conversations were brief as Davis and LeBron spoke for fractions of the time they have during the recent streak. The often long-haired Redick was also brief in his thoughts after the game.

There’s no shame in losing to a tough team like the Orlando Magic, there currently the no. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. But it is a reminder that there is still work to be done Los Angeles.

However, the tests will not be easier for the Lakers. Waiting for them on Saturday will be the Denver Nuggets, a team that has served as kryptonite for the Lakers for the past two seasons.

These are very different versions of the teams that met in last year’s playoffs. The Nuggets currently sit below the Lakers in the standings and have been without Nikola Jokic in the last three games.

But tests come in all shapes and sizes. The Lakers missed one against the Magic, but can pass a big one on Saturday. By doing that, that would make Thursday’s loss just a bump in the road during the long journey that is an 82-game NBA season.

It is, as some coaches might say, a marathon.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.