For the second time in two games, the Los Angeles Lakers played Monday with stars Luka Dončić and LeBron James following a seven-game absence by James.
For the second time in those two games, the Lakers lost.
The Orlando Magic opened a 100-83 quarter lead over the Lakers on Monday, then held on for a 118-106 win. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak at home for the Magic, who hadn't previously won at the Kia Center since Feb. 23.
Dončić and James each scored 22-plus points. But it wasn't enough to stop a slump that's now seen the Lakers lose six of their last nine games. The loss drops the Lakers to 43-28, which at the conclusion of Monday's game dropped them into a fourth-place tie in the West with the Memphis Grizzlies, a half-game behind the third-place Denver Nuggets.
The race for the No. 2 seed in the West remains tight with the Nuggets, Lakers and Grizzlies all within 2.5 games of the second-place Houston Rockets. The Oklahoma City Thunder are in control of the No. 1 seed with a 13.5-game lead over Houston.
Monday's loss to Orlando follows a 146-115 loss to the now 31-40 Chicago Bulls in James' first game back from a groin injury. With Dončić and James back together, the Lakers had hoped to finish strong in the race for the No. 2 seed.
