Early on, the Lakers looked in postseason form and the Magic looked in, well, four-month hiatus form. That would change in the second half.
It was the first home game for the NBA restart’s default home team. There was Magic signage around the court. There was some Paul Porter sound effects. There was LeBron James and old friend turned nemesis Dwight Howard taking the court in Central Florida.
But it was the road Lakers who competed from the jump as if they were playing for something, building a big lead in the early going.
The Magic, compared to their first scrimmage, had better ball movement at times in the first quarter but it didn’t mean much with shots not falling as they went just 5-for-24 from the field in the opening quarter, including 1 of 8 from three (the one make being Evan Fournier’s first bubble basket after going 0-for-5 in the opener).