Franz Wagner put the nail in the coffin with a stepback three-pointer, handing the Los Angeles Lakers their first home loss of the season. However, the 119-118 scoreline could have easily looked different had Anthony Davis knocked down his free throws in the fourth quarter.
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After the game, the Brow took full responsibility for his costly misses in the final 30 seconds. “Any loss is frustrating,” the nine-time All-Star said. “More frustrating for me, I’m the one who missed the free throws,” Davis told Spectrum SportsNet in a locker room interview.
Anthony Davis after missing three of the six free throws that LAL missed as a team in the 4th Q: pic.twitter.com/yiIH5PUAtL
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 22, 2024
In a tight loss like tonight’s, leaving points on the floor can prove costly and AD was certainly feeling the pinch. His disappointment was palpable after missing three of his four free-throw attempts during crunch time. But it wasn’t just Davis who struggled from the charity stripe.
During the final four minutes, Austin Reaves missed two free-throw attempts and LeBron James missed one. That’s six total points that the Lakers could have easily added to their tally.
The Magic did not suffer the same problems as they made 85.7% of their free-throws, a much better figure than the Lakers’ 65.4%.
Ironically, entering the fourth quarter, the Brow had shot 9 of 9 from the charity stripe. Along with James, he would combine for 70 points at the Crypto.com Arena. AD also continued his defensive dominance, grabbing four offensive rebounds and three blocks in 38 minutes of action.
His stellar performance throughout the night made his late-game misses seem more uncharacteristic. However, a deeper look at his stats show that he has been shooting a dismal 50% from the stripe in clutch situations. At the same time, Davis has maintained an 80% efficiency from three and 60% from the field in the clutch.
Nonetheless, this time it was Wagner who showed up for Orlando down the stretch. His 19 second-half points were just enough to deny the Lakers their seventh straight win.
The Purple and Gold are still in a good position though, holding the fourth seed in a stacked Western Conference. Their 10-5 record will be challenged by tougher opposition on Saturday night when the Denver Nuggets visit Crypto.com Arena.
With Nikola Jokic’s extended absence from the lineup, this could present the perfect opportunity for AD and LeBron to turn the tides against Denver for a change.
