During each Magic home game, watch this space for updates throughout the game on the happenings - both on-court and off - at Amway Arena. The Baseline Blog is updated every 2-5 minutes during the game.

By Matthew Gardner | OrlandoMagic.com

Even though they held a 12 point lead early in the game, the Orlando Magic weren't able to hold onto it on Wednesday night, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers, 106-93. The Lakers outscored the Magic 60-46 in the second half as Orlando falls to 17-13 on the season. Grant Hill led the Magic with 20 points, while Jameer Nelson added 15 points and 7 assists. The Magic now head to Washington for Friday's showdown with the Wizards.

The Magic - playing with its starting five for the first time in nine games - roared out of the gate and held a 12 point lead early in the game. Hedo Turkoglu, who missed the past two weeks due to a sprained right ankle, led the efforts early on with eight points.

But the Lakers mounted a comeback to move within one point at the half and came out firing in the third quarter. Smush Parker had 18 of his 20 points in the third period as the Magic trailed by six entering the fourth quarter. Orlando would move within three, but no closer as Los Angeles was able to hold off the home team to even their road record at 6-6.

The Magic had six players in double figures, including Hill's 20 and Nelson's 15 points. Darko Milicic scored 13 points to go along with 8 rebounds off the bench and Trevor Ariza also added 11 points for the reserves. Turkoglu finished with 12 points in his comeback game, but was 0-for-4 from three-point range. Dwight Howard added 12 points and 8 rebounds for Orlando.

Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles with 27 points off 8-of-22 shooting, while Andrew Bynam added 13 points and starters Luke Walton and Kwame Brown each scored 10, respectively.

9:28PM: Just 1:55 left and the Lakers still lead 101-88. Magic just 20-of-29 from the free throw line and 0-of-5 from three with 16 turnovers. Not good combinations for any team. Lakers winding down the clock as they are going to get a victory on the road in Orlando.

9:21PM: Kobe hits his first since checking back in and is fouled by Turkoglu. He hits the free throw to make it a 14 point Laker lead and things are falling apart in a hurry for Orlando as Los Angeles has outhustled and outplayed Orlando in the second half.

9:16PM: Radmanovic hits a pair of free throws and the Lakers lead is now 10 with 6:22 left. Darko puts back a Hedo miss to cut it to eight, but Bynum again makes easy work of Darko's defense with a huge dunk. Darko misses at the other end, but Bynum comes up short this trip. Kobe and Kwame check back in for L.A. and Arroyo's pass inside is picked off by Brown with 4:47 remaining on the clock. Kobe misses at the other end, but Grant's shot doesn't fall.

9:12PM: Los Angeles is getting too many easy buckets. Bynum backs right in on Darko for a layup and then Radmanovic drives baseline for a dunk. Hedo just laid one off the glass to bring Orlando within six, 89-83, with 7:08 left. But Vujacic takes it to the lane and get rewarded with another easy bucket. Kobe isn't even on the floor at the moment and this Lakers offense is walking around like they own the place.

9:07PM: Lakers get another bucket when Andrew Bynum puts back a Kobe miss. Los Angeles has a five-point lead with 8:38 remaining in the fourth. The Magic need to start hitting some shots from outside as they are without a three-pointer (0-for-4) in the game. They are also now losing the rebound battle, 29-28, after leading in that category for much of the game.

9:06PM: Darko is fouled while making a hook shot and goes to the line with the Magic down by four. He hits the free throw and the Lakers' lead is only three, 83-80.

9:01PM: Fourth quarter now in play and the Magic cut their deficit in half as a defensive three seconds call on L.A. send Arroyo to the line. He hits the freebie and follows by hitting a jumper. Lakers 79, Magic 76.

8:58PM: Darko's lay in brings the Magic within three in the final minute. With one final attempt, the Lakers find Brian Cook open in the corner and he cans the three. At the end of three quarters, the Lakers have a six-point lead, 79-73.

8:56PM: Kobe is fouled by Jameer and goes to the line where he's 6-of-7 so far. His first bounces off the front of the rim, but goes in. The second one swishes and the Lakers have a five-point lead, 76-71.

8:53PM: A great loose ball effort by Trevor Ariza and Jameer Nelson ends up in the hands of the Lakers and L.A. has numbers at the other end, which finishes with a Smush Parker layup. But Ariza's high-octane game comes to life again at the other end as he is fouled and goes to the line where he hits 1-of-2 to bring Orlando within one, 72-71. But Kobe hits an outside jumper (16 points) as Los Angeles now holds a 74-71 lead with 1:08 remaining in the third.

8:49PM: A three from Smush Parker ties the game with 2:54 left.

8:47PM: Orlando's big lead doesn't last long as Brian Cook connects from outside and Kobe Bryant is fouled and goes to the line. He misses his first, but hits the second to make it a one possession game with 3:17 remaining, 70-67.

8:43PM: Magic lead is five with 5:21 remaining in the third. Hedo misses a three and the Magic are 0-for-4 from long distance so far tonight. Kwame Brown's layup at the other end makes it a one possession game, 65-62. That is, until a driving Grant Hill hits a reverse layup and is fouled by Brown. He goes to the line and makes the free throw and the lead is up to six.

8:37PM : A pair of layups, followed by a steal and layup by Smush Parker cuts the Lakers deficit to four, 63-59. Timeout on the floor with 5:55 left in the third.

8:33PM: Dwight has a pair of dunks in the opening minutes of the third quarter as the Magic now have a four point lead, 59-55. Grant Hill adds to the lead by drawing a foul from Brian Cook while making a layup. The Magic lead, 61-55, ith 7:02 remaining in the third quarter.

8:29PM: Third quarter underway and the Magic off to a good start with a Dwight dunk and Battie outside jumper to take a five-point lead. L.A. gets on the board with a Smush Parker three, followed by a Luke Walton layup to tie the game at 51.

8:11PM: Halftime in Orlando and the Magic lead by one, 47-46.

8:07PM: Kobe takes the ball to the baseline and makes a move to the basket on Grant. He makes the bucket and is fouled. He then hits the free throw to tie the game at 42 with 2:28 left until halftime. At the other end, Dwight dribbles inside before making a shot against Kwame and picking up the foul. The free throw is good and the Magic hold a three-point lead against at the 2:00 mark.

8:01PM: Sasha Vujacic hits a three to make it a one point game with 3:51 left, 40-39. But Jameer Nelson beats the shot-clock and his layup gives Orlando a three-point lead.

7:58PM: Grant with a nice baseline move on Kobe brings Orlando's lead back to seven at 39-32. However, Brown hits a pair of free throws to bring the Lakers within five, 39-34. But Phil Jackson gets a technical and Grant hits the free throw. At the other end, Walton hits a fadeaway to make it a four point game. The Lakers starters that have returned (Brown, Walton and Kobe) are doing a pretty good job at the moment.

7:52PM: Ariza having a big impact with eight points in eight minutes and Orlando's defense is stifling all efforts by the Lakers. Orlando has a 37-28 lead with 5:44 left in the second quarter.

7:45PM: Mr. Ariza flying high once again. He gets a hand on the ball on defense, which forces the Lakers turnover and then darts down to the other end where Arroyo finds him for the dunk. He's picked up six points in five minutes on the floor and Orlando leads, 31-23. On the next possession, Hedo's three attempt flys out, but Arroyo is there for the rebound and quick putback as the Magic lead is now 10.

7:43PM: A sweet feed from Hedo to Trevor leads to a pair of fastbreak points for the Magic as Ariza slams one down. The Magic off to a good start in the second quarter and the lead is now eight, 29-21 with just a minute expired.

7:38PM: One quarter in the books and the Magic hold a 25-21 lead.

7:37PM: Strong move to the basket by Darko gives Orlando the 24-19 lead. But Radmanovic's floater at the other end puts the Lakers within three, 24-21 with a minute left in the opening quarter.

7:31PM: Timeout on the floor and the Magic holding a 21-16 lead. The starting five looked good back on the floor together again. Hedo, Tony and Grant check out with a combined 13 points. They are replaced by Darko Milicic, Keyon Dooling and Trevor Ariza.

7:28PM: Orlando has stormed out to a 17-12 lead with seven straight points. Hedo drives into the basket and that is followed by a Jameer steal and coast-to-coast layup. Turkoglu just got another basket on a goaltending call and it's a 9-0 run for the Magic.

7:24PM: Timeout at 5:58 in the first quarter and the Magic trail, 12-10. Kobe has half the Lakers' point total so far with 6 points, while Hedo leads the Magic with four. The Lakers getting lots of shots off with 13 attempts (5 makes) in the opening minutes. The Howard and Brown battle inside should be interesting all night. Dwight doing a good job not letting Brown have any looks inside. Containing Kobe and keeping Parker, Walton and company from having wide open shots tonight will be key.

7:18PM: Hedo gets his first bucket on the night with a jumper that gives the Magic a 6-4 lead. The Lakers have buckets from Smush Parker and Kobe.

7:12PM: Tip-off time at the Amway Arena and Dwight's in the middle with another former top pick - Kwame Brown. And the tip goes to...the Lakers. First possession for L.A., Kobe drives inside and is pressured by Dwight and his shot falls short. Magic take the ball down court and feed Dwight inside and the big man powers his way to the basket against Brown for the easy lay in. Magic 2, Lakers 0.

7:09PM: Starting lineup time. For the Lakers: Luke Walton, Brian Cook, Kwame Brown, Smush Parker and Kobe Bryant. And for your Orlando Magic, the starting lineup is back intact with Dwight Howard, Tony Battie, Hedo Turkoglu, Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson.

7:01PM: Welcome to tonight's game. The Magic returning to action tonight after a three-day break for the holidays, while the Lakers have been roaming around Florida with some time to kill since their Christmas Day loss in Miami. The Magic should be back at full strength tonight with Hedo Turkoglu and Keith Bogans back and suited up for tonight's contest. J.J. Redick, Travis Diener and James Augustine are the inactives for tonight's game.

After a three-day break, the Orlando Magic return to action tonight when they welcome Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers to town.

The Magic come into tonight's contest looking to shed a two-game losing streak, including Saturday's three point loss at Cleveland. Orlando is 17-12 on the season and are close to having its starting lineup at full strength. After missing four games, Jameer Nelson returned to the lineup last Wednesday. This week, starting small forward Hedo Turkoglu could return to action after missing several weeks due to a sprained right ankle. Reserve guard Keith Bogans is also available for action now after recovering from his own ankle injury.

LAST GAME:
Dec. 23 @ Cleveland – Cavaliers 86, Magic 83: LeBron James scored 19 of his game-high 32 points during the fourth quarter, as Cleveland edged Orlando, 86-83, at Quicken Loans Arena. James went 8-of-10 from the floor during the final stanza, as the Cavaliers outscored the Magic, 24-18. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, while Drew Gooden tallied 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dwight Howard led the Magic with 17 points and 13 boards. Both teams struggled from the field – Orlando shot 43.5 percent, while Cleveland shot 40 percent. Trailing 73-72, James gave the Cavs the lead for good by scoring Cleveland’s next 13 points.

RECENT GAMES:
Dec. 22 vs. Golden State – Warriors 117, Magic 108: Baron Davis poured in a season-high 38 points, as Golden State defeated Orlando, 117-108, at Amway Arena. Davis was 11-of-23 from the floor and 13-of-15 from the charity stripe. Mike Dunleavy netted 21 points for the Warriors, while Monta Ellis had 18. Trevor Ariza led the Magic with a career-high 23 points and Jameer Nelson added 22. Grant Hill enjoyed a solid all-around game with 21 points, a team-best seven assists and six boards. The Magic led 81-80 after three quarters, but were outscored during the final stanza, 37-27. Dunleavy provided the dagger, banking in a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to push the Warriors’ advantage to 107-100 with 1:52 to play. Davis scored 23 of his 38 during the second half.

Dec. 20 vs. N.O./Okla. City – Magic 86, Hornets 83: Grant Hill scored a game-high 21 points, as the Magic defeated New Orleans/Oklahoma City, 86-83, at Amway Arena. Dwight Howard tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando, while Travis Diener came off the bench to score 13 points, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. Chris Paul led the Hornets with 19 points and 10 assists. The Magic held the Hornets to 36.9 percent shooting from the floor and forced 20 turnovers. Orlando stormed out of the gates, opening with a 23-3 run. New Orleans/Oklahoma City fought back, outscoring the Magic during the second quarter, 28-15 and tied the game at halftime, 41-41. A jumper by Marc Jackson early in the fourth quarter gave the Hornets a 72-67 lead. The Magic responded with a 17-3 run, including nine points by Diener and pushed their lead to 84-75. The Hornets trailed 86-83 and had one final possession, but Rasual Butler’s three-point attempt fell well short.

TONIGHT’S OPPONENT:
Dec. 27 vs. L.A. Lakers (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 8-27 all-time vs. the L.A. Lakers (6-12 at home, 2-15 on the road) during the regular season, including 0-2 last season...The Magic have lost 13 of the last 15 games in this series…Orlando has split the last four meetings at home, but lost nine straight outings at Los Angeles (last win @ L.A.: 98-97 on Mar. 17, 1996)...Trevor Ariza attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. the Lakers, see p. 259 of the media guide.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. LAKERS: 46 pts., Shaquille O’Neal (@ Orlando, 3-8-95)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 41 pts., Kobe Bryant (@ Orlando, 11-12-04)