Magic hand Lakers third straight defeat, Bulls beat Nuggets

Despite 32 points from Luka Doncic and 24 from LeBron James the Lakers dropped their third straight game and at 43-28 are now tied with the Memphis Grizzlies in the battle for fourth place in the Western Conference. Franz Wagner scored 32 points and Paolo Banchero added 30 for the Magic, who out-scored the Lakers 34-18 in the third quarter to seize control of the contest. The defeat follows the Lakers' blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls in James's first game back after missing seven with a groin injury.