Following a hard-fought overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers quickly returned home for a back-to-back game against the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

In spite of their heavy minutes in Sacramento, Lakers’ superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis were in action against the Magic. Unfortunately, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt were absent from the Lakers’ lineup. Nevertheless, their absence didn’t hinder the Lakers from securing a narrow 104-103 victory, bringing their season record to 2-2.

The Magic came out with guns blazing, sinking three-pointers on their first two possessions, quickly taking a 6-4 lead. Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis contributed layups for the Lakers during this period.

D’Angelo Russell wowed the crowd early with a poster-worthy dunk over Paolo Banchero, even though the Lakers struggled offensively in the early stages of the game, a recurring theme this season.

Towards the end of the first quarter, the Lakers mounted a run, with Davis scoring a couple of buckets and Christian Wood nailing a three-pointer after a steal by Russell. Gabe Vincent also sank his first three-pointer of the season, and the Lakers ended the first quarter with a 29-24 lead.

The Lakers carried their newfound momentum into the second quarter, embarking on a 6-0 run to establish their first double-digit lead. Gary Harris, on the other hand, caught fire for Orlando, making four three-pointers and bringing his team right back into the game.

Despite Davis finding easy baskets inside, the Lakers entered halftime trailing 58-54 after Jalen Suggs hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer.

Franz Wagner started strong for the Magic in the third quarter, building an eight-point lead. Austin Reaves finally connected on a three-pointer for the Lakers, a much-needed contribution given his early-season struggles.

LeBron drew a clear path foul on Wagner, sparking a 9-0 Lakers run to end the third quarter and regain the lead at 81-80.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Cole Anthony drained a deep three-pointer to end the Lakers’ run. LeBron quickly responded with an easy layup. Harris continued his first-half hot streak, knocking down an open three to put Orlando ahead by five.

D’Angelo Russell hit a crucial three-pointer in the middle of the fourth quarter to keep the Lakers in the game and later made some clutch free throws to narrow the deficit to 98-96. LeBron and Russell then connected on crucial three-pointers to give the Lakers the lead in the final 90 seconds.

Following a missed layup by LeBron, the Magic had one last chance, trailing 104-103 with 20 seconds left. Suggs drove to the basket, but Davis contested the shot, causing a miss. Russell then made two free throws, extending the Lakers’ lead to three. The Magic had two missed three-point attempts in the final seconds, sealing the Lakers’ 104-103 victory.