If there’s one thing Roy Hibbert can do, it’s defend.
But even all 7-foot-2 of Hibbert in Nikola Vucevic’s face could not stop the Orlando center from hitting the game-winning turnaround jumper with zeros left on the clock Wednesday.
Just 25.5 seconds earlier, the Lakers (1-7) had the ball with a chance to break the 99-99 tie. But Lou Williams couldn’t cash his mid-range attempt — or even hit the rim. Head coach Byron Scott had called for a high pick-and-roll, but Williams instead took his man one-on-one.
”He’s a veteran and I trust his judgement on that one,” Scott said.
Hibbert grabbed Williams’ miss and put it in, but the shot clock had run out, giving Orlando (4-5) possession with a second and a half remaining.
That was all the time needed for Vucevic to strike from 20 feet out for the 101-99 Magic victory.
“He hit a really tough shot, man,” Hibbert said. “He did it a couple of times tonight. I wish I could’ve done a better job.”
Vucevic’s buzzer-beater served as the final of 25 lead changes by breaking the game’s 15th tie. No team led by more than seven in the back-and-forth affair.
“We’ve got to capitalize whenever we get stops,” D’Angelo Russell said. “We were getting the turnovers and stops, but then we couldn’t capitalize on the other end.”
Without Kobe Bryant (back), L.A.’s scoring was a collective effort, as six Lakers finished in double figures, with Hibbert leading the group (15 points, three blocks).
While Orlando had similar balance, Shabazz Napier (career-high 22 points) and Vucevic (18) did most of the lifting off the bench. In particular, Napier bombarded the Lakers in the fourth quarter with 12 points, including four of his five 3-pointers.
Unfortunately for L.A., Napier wasn’t alone in his barrage, as the Magic sunk 13 3’s on 28 tries.
The Lakers’ offense was clicking with season highs in field goal percentage (49.4) and assists (25), but Orlando simply had more chances to succeed by hauling in 23 offensive rebounds — its most in five years.
Rookies Stand Out
Despite the loss, it was a strong night for the Lakers’ first-round draft picks, Russell and Larry Nance, Jr.
Russell played a team-high 31 minutes, tallying 14 points and six rebounds. He was particularly hot early on, scoring half of his total in the first quarter.
Nance, meanwhile, powered L.A.’s bench by connecting on all six of his shots for a season-high 13 points in 20 minutes.
"I love the way Larry plays," Scott said. "I love the energy he plays with. I love the calmness that he plays with. ... He's very mature out there. He doesn't make a ton of mistakes. He knows his own game. He doesn't take bad shots. He takes what the defense gives him."
The 27th pick got what he want across the floor, scoring three times in the paint, twice from mid-range and once on a corner 3.
“That’s what we talk about with the coaches: Never let a day go by when you don’t get better mentally, physically, whatever it may be,” Nance said. “Of recent, we’ve been working on my mid-range and 3-point shots, which is really paying off for me.”
Notes
Orlando’s second-leading scorer, Victor Oladipo, played just seven minutes before suffering concussion-like symptoms. … The Magic led by five with two minutes left before L.A. tied it via three free throws from Williams and a Julius Randle jumper. … Amway Center sold out to a crowd of 18,846.
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