Just 16 days after Orlando handed the Lakers a wire-to-wire, 19-point defeat on the road, the purple and gold defended home court with some of the best defense they have shown all year.
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The Lakers held the Magic to 35 second-half points — including just nine in the third quarter — to roll ahead for a 111-95 victory.
“We were the aggressors — 100 percent,” head coach Luke Walton said of his team’s defense.
Before the game, Walton said that the Magic “big boy-ed” the Lakers in their previous meeting, but that clearly wasn’t the case this time.
Julius Randle (19 points, nine rebounds, five assists) and D’Angelo Russell (17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) led the way with a pair of strong, all-around performances, which Walton felt spoke to the way they have “stepped up their professionalism” recently.
Said Walton: “For both of them, I think there’s been a real change in the way that they’re preparing as far as how hard they’re playing in practice; the accountability they’re taking when they make mistakes; the constant staying after to get shots up, whether it’s shootaround or practice.”
Russell — who hit 7-of-10 from the field — has dedicated himself in the weight room lately, while also changing up his mentality toward matchups.
“I don’t want to worry about my opponent,” he said. “I want them to worry about me. As of late, it’s been successful.”
HIGHLIGHTS: Lakers drop the Magic, 111-95, for their third straight home victory. #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/R0I6LDrpDR
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 9, 2017
Strangely, this game began as a full-on shootout, as the teams combined to hit 68.9 percent of their shots in the first quarter, with the Lakers (15-26) taking a 40-34 lead on Randle’s last-second 3-pointer.
Both offenses cooled down in the second quarter before the Magic (16-23) froze up in the third.
Los Angeles opened up the second half with a 10-1 run to push its lead to 11, as Russell did most of the damage with five points and two assists in this stretch.
The ball was practically repelled by the hoop for Orlando, which scored just nine points in the third on 2-of-20 shooting, making for the Lakers’ best defensive quarter of the year.
The Magic briefly brought L.A.’s advantage down to single digits in the fourth before a 16-7 Lakers run gave them their biggest lead of the night at 18.
From there, rookie Brandon Ingram sealed it by scoring a dozen of his career-high tying 17 points in the final period.
The Lakers shot just 8-of-32 from 3-point range on the night, but the victory spoke to Walton’s adamance that defense is the key to overcoming poor shooting performances.
That commitment to defense caused L.A.’s inaccuracy to be contagious, as the Magic shot just 23.4 percent in the second half, including 1-of-13 on three-pointers.
Julius Randle runs back to block the shot and ice the game #NBAVote (📺: @SpectrumSN & @spectdeportes) pic.twitter.com/u2Hk7ADEEp
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 9, 2017
After entering the fourth quarter with only five points, Ingram hit all four of his shots from the field — including a pair of 3-pointers — to tie his career-high for the second straight game.
He has displayed a variety of offensive skills lately, handling the ball and getting to the rim while also showing more consistency on his jumper.
“I’m starting to feel confident and just finding the openness in the offense and trying to make plays for myself,” Ingram said.
And though he shot 6-of-9 from the field, Ingram’s coach was quick to highlight the smart passes that he made when the defense would attempt to fluster him.
“We’re big fans of what he can do on the basketball court,” Walton said. “Whether he’s shooting 1-of-8 or scoring 17 points, we keep leaving him out there because we know what he’s capable of.”
Ingram certainly had his share of rough shooting nights last month, hitting just 33.6 percent of his shots in December, including a 7-of-34 mark on 3-pointers.
But his teammates are confident in his ability to contribute even if it’s not always through scoring.
“He is doing everything out there,” Randle said. “Defending, making shots, blocking shots, playing a little bit of point and being very versatile out there. He’s helping us out a lot.”
In addition to Ingram’s skill set, Walton was also pleased with the 19-year-old’s willingness to work. The night before, Walton said, Ingram showed up to the Lakers’ practice facility ready to practice by himself before realizing that there was a Los Angeles D-Fenders game that night.
Instead, he found someplace else to work on his game, illustrating the amount of his focus that basketball takes up.
“If I’m not asleep, it’s probably all basketball,” Ingram said.
