Lakers guard Dennis Schroder looks for a shot as Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony defends during the first half of Monday’s game in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis, left, takes a shot over Orlando Magic forward Chuma Okeke (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba (5) collects a rebound in front of Los Angeles Lakers center Montrezl Harrell (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic guard R.J. Hampton, right, makes a shot over Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers center Montrezl Harrell (15) passes the ball as his path to the basket is blocked by Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba (5) and forward Robert Franks, back left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Chuma Okeke, center, passes the ball as he falls between Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, back left, and center Andre Drummond (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) takes shot as he gets between Orlando Magic guard Chasson Randle, left, and forward Chuma Okeke (3)during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic guard Chasson Randle (25) passes the ball around Los Angeles Lakers center Montrezl Harrell (15) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder (17) collects a rebound during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Ben McLemore (7) and center Montrezl Harrell (15) try to stop Orlando Magic forward Chuma Okeke (3) from taking a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) tries to get by Orlando Magic forward Robert Franks, right, while going to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba, right, tries to tap in an alley-oop pass over Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) passes the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers center Montrezl Harrell (15) tries to block a shot attempt by Orlando Magic guard Dwayne Bacon (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, right, tries but can’t finish his shot as he is defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., left, looks for a way around Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers center Montrezl Harrell (15) dunks the ball over Orlando Magic forward Chuma Okeke (3) but was called for traveling and the basket did not count during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., right, shoots over Los Angeles Lakers center Andre Drummond (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) makes a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Robert Franks, left, looks for shot as he gets in front of =Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Robert Franks (0) gets past Los Angeles Lakers guard Ben McLemore (7) for a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) passes the ball over Orlando Magic forward Robert Franks (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., right, goes around Los Angeles Lakers center Andre Drummond during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) reacts as Orlando Magic guard Gary Harris (14) gets past him for a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James shouts encouragement to his teammates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso, left, drives around Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic guard Chasson Randle (25) loos to pass as he is defended by Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso (4) and Orlando Magic forward Robert Franks (0) battle for a rebound as Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Robert Franks (0) takes a shot over Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso (4) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder (17) looks for a way past Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) gestures after making a 3-point shot against the Orlando Magic during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, greets teammate forward Kyle Kuzma (0) at the end of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
A knowing look between Anthony Davis and Dennis Schröder as the Lakers wound down a victory over the Eastern Conference cellar-dwelling Orlando Magic was an acknowledgment, Davis said.
Since coming back last week, Davis had attempted 10 shots from 3-point range and missed them all before a corner 3-ball with 1:17 to go on Monday final hit true. The curve to getting back to form has been an uncomfortably long one for Davis, who spent two months on the shelf with a calf strain.
So too is it a long curve for the Lakers, who are finding even the most advantageous circumstances difficult to manufacture into wins lately.
They did break a three-game losing streak with their road win Monday, but not without a wrestling match that would have been suited for the swamplands of Central Florida. The Lakers (36-25) struggled to leverage control against a Magic team that has struggled to beat anyone in the last month, before a breakaway fourth quarter finally earned them a 114-103 victory that ranks perhaps as their least impressive of the season.
But getting on the right side of the win column for the first time since Davis returned did, actually, feel like progress in spite of the unseemly path to get there.
“The end of the game (look) was that I finally made a 3 – that’s all that that was about, like ‘Thank you,’ – and the fact that we finally got a win,” Davis said. “Now let’s get this thing rolling.”
The impatience is understandable for the Lakers, who have just 11 regular-season games remaining but have not recently looked like the favorite to repeat as champions. The fourth quarter was about the closest they’ve come in perhaps a month or more.
The hero of the closing frame was Schröder, who scored 13 of his team-leading 21 points in the fourth. During one 3-minute stretch, the point guard sank four straight shots, then delivered a pass to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a knockout 3-pointer that gave the Lakers an 11-point lead with 2-1/2 minutes left.
That particular quarter went almost entirely the Lakers’ way, as they made 14 of their 19 shots with just a single turnover. It almost papered over why the team needed such a closing boost in the first place.
“We were fortunate enough to dodge a bullet and get the game back under control,” Coach Frank Vogel said. “But aside from that second quarter, we played a heck of a basketball game.”
The bullet had to be dodged, though.
The breezy start belied the tussle that the game would become. With all eyes on him following a 5-for-19 shooting night in Dallas, Davis eased into the first quarter making his first three shots. By the halfway mark, the Lakers were up double-digits against the cold-shooting Magic.
Orlando has been steeped in losing since trading away the best players of its core in March, with just one win in its last 15 games. Adding to the Magic’s degree of difficulty was its missing head coach: Steve Clifford is stuck in the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, leaving veteran assistant Ty Corbin at the controls for the time being.
So it was a stunner in the second quarter when Orlando began running the defending champions off the court. The Magic made 10 of their first 11 shots in the frame and as the Lakers coughed up the ball seven times, Orlando scored 12 points with an effective transition game.
After trailing by as much as 16, the Magic flipped the game with a 32-9 run, finishing with 40 points in the second quarter.
It was a low point, Vogel said, but he was proud that they were able to pull out of the nosedive.
“Our group has the mindset to build chemistry every time we’re on the floor, and to stay connected and work through that stuff with a positive attitude,” he said. “And that’s what I love about our group. That’s what halftime was about. ‘Let’s not panic. Let’s just get back to what we do. Tighten the screws.’ And we were able to have a great second half.”
Montrezl Harrell (18 points) had a lot to do with it. After sitting out his first game of the season due to a coach’s decision on Saturday, he clawed against Orlando in the post.
During one memorable third-quarter stretch, Harrell’s frustration seemed to balloon as he shouted at officials to call the contact he was playing through. Finally with 21 seconds in the third quarter, Harrell finished with a dunk and a foul against Mo Bamba, then flexed from the sideline.
It might have been the jolt the Lakers needed to survive. Regardless of spotty appearances in the rotation, Harrell pledged to keep his energy up.
“I definitely think it did affect the team because the guys definitely rallied around that and it brought a sense of energy that I thought we needed at that point and time,” he said. “I’m gonna play with the same energy, the same passion every game I’m out there.”