Lakers begin homestand vs. Magic

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Lakers will try to halt a minor slide on Friday night when they kick off a homestand against the Orlando Magic at Staples Center.

The Lakers have lost two straight, both on the road, although their most recent setback was in familiar territory. They fell to the Clippers, 114-89, in a game where Doc Rivers' squad was designated as the home team.

Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 14, followed by Jordan Hill and Wayne Ellington, who both had 13 points. Jeremy Lin chipped in 12 points, Nick Young added 11 and Carlos Boozer managed 10 points.

Kobe Bryant finished 2-for-12 shooting for a season-low four points. He also had team highs of eight rebounds, seven assists and six turnovers. Bryant missed Monday's loss in Portland, as well as three games in late December, to rest his body.

The Clippers led by 10 after one quarter, 22 at the half and 36 after three quarters. The loss was a frustrating one and Lakers' skipper Byron Scott didn't mince words.

"It's very disappointing," he said. "We came out soft. They punched us. I told them to man up. Bottom line, we were soft."

The Lakers will welcome the Trail Blazers, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers during this residency.

The Magic have dropped four straight and lost the opener of a four-game road trip on Wednesday with a 93-90 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 11 boards for the Magic, who had a two-game road winning streak snapped. Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier posted 17 and 14 points, respectively, with Oladipo also dishing out six assists.

Ahead 67-64 with 9:35 to play, the Nuggets created some distance with an 11-4 run. Nate Robinson scored nine points during the surge, which gave Denver a 78-68 edge with 5:49 left.

Vucevic's slam and Andrew Nicholson's 3-pointer around a Kenneth Faried turnover pulled Orlando within 93-90 with 56.4 seconds to go. The Magic had a chance to tie following misses by Lawson and Robinson, but Fournier's last- second 3-pointer fell short.

"Our guys have character and I've never doubted that," said Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. "We'll continue to build that character. Overall, some good contributions off the bench and guys were ready to play when their numbers were called."

The two teams have split the last six meetings, but the Lakers have taken three of the last four encounters in Los Angeles.