Lakers up to their old tricks in loss

The showdown between Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard was kind of a dud.

So were the Lakers.

A late lead was lost, and then the game as well, the Lakers falling to the vastly improved Orlando Magic, 104-97, Sunday at Staples Center.

Howard was a winner by slight decision in the battle of young centers, but the Lakers had other issues with which to contend.

They again turned the ball over with regularity and allowed a late 9-0 run that left them staring at a 9-8 record. And that was after a solid game from Lamar Odom, who had 19 points and 17 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant had 19 points in the first quarter but finished with only 28 on 10-for-26 shooting.

The Lakers actually led, 93-91, until Hedo Turkoglu made a three-pointer with 4:22 to play.

The Lakers went cold from there. As in, frigid, Arctic cold.

Luke Walton had a turnover on a bad pass, Odom missed a 19-footer, Odom missed a three-point attempt, Bryant missed a 15-footer, Bryant had the ball stolen by Keith Bogans, Jordan Farmar missed a 16-footer and Odom had a turnover on a bad pass.

It led to nine unanswered points for Orlando (15-4).

The Lakers had few answers afterward. They have lost five of seven.

“Tonight should have been a game for us to turn it around, and we let it get away from us,” Walton said. “We definitely need to start taking advantage of winning some ball games early, especially here at home, if we want to do anything in the playoffs.”

Howard, who turns 22 Saturday, and Bynum, 20, were slowed by early foul trouble, with each taking small victories the rest of the way.

Howard had 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots in 36 minutes. Bynum had 10 points, six rebounds and tied a career high with seven blocked shots in 28 minutes.

“I did all right, I think,” Bynum said when asked to grade his effort. “Offensively, like an ‘F.’ I turned the ball over numerous times. Defensively, I think at least an ‘A’ because I held him under his average in points and rebounds.”

Howard was averaging 23.8 points and 15 rebounds before Sunday.

A surprising problem spot for the Lakers was Bryant’s finish.

He looked great in the first quarter, two of the 19 points coming on a one-handed alley-oop dunk when he went high to get Derek Fisher’s pass.

But he had three points in the second quarter, two in the third and four in the fourth. He didn’t appear to be getting great lift on his jump shot, and he dawdled with the ball in the post.

“I was actually asking the [assistant] coaches what they thought,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “I thought he had some real good post-up position out there in situations and just didn’t turn around and shoot the ball in the post, which is one of his better [skills]. He’s waiting for something else to happen, perhaps. I just thought his timing wasn’t good in the second half.”

What exactly happened in the post? “I just think he’s got to make his move quick,” Jackson said. “I thought he was dancing a little bit and doing things with the ball that just took some rhythm away from what he’s trying to get at.”

When asked about it, Bryant answered hastily.

“I just wasn’t in a rhythm,” he said.

Of the team’s struggles in general, he was more talkative.

The Lakers’ reserves were outscored by Orlando’s reserves, 42-24, and the Lakers had another turnover-filled game, finishing with 22. Odom, Bryant and Farmar each had four. The Lakers were sixth in the league with 16.5 turnovers a game before Sunday.

They had five in the final 6:43 against the Magic.

“We thought that we had it and we made some mistakes,” Bryant said. “You’re going to have that with a young team, so you’ve just got to take your lumps, figure things out and go from there.”

The Lakers now leave for a quick trip that starts Tuesday in Minnesota and ends Wednesday in Denver.

Mindful of the weather in such locales, one of the coaches offered the players a one-word reminder on the locker-room whiteboard: “Overcoats.”

Indeed, it might get even colder from here.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com