In-and-out is what trip is all about

It happened again to the Lakers, another down-and-out night after another in-and-out shot.

This time it was Sasha Vujacic’s three-point attempt, a wide-open look that easily could have given the Lakers a two-point lead against the Orlando Magic with 3.9 seconds left.

Instead, it gave them heartbreak, going the same way of Kobe Bryant’s 12-footer the previous night against Miami -- rimming out of the cylinder and into oblivion.

The Lakers lost, 106-103, Saturday at Amway Arena and were slapped with two losses in two forgettable days in Florida.

Vujacic buried his face in his hands and dropped into a frozen crouch after the miss, as good a metaphor as any while the Lakers wonder when they’ll win again after their first two-game losing streak of the season.

It was yet another odd night for a team with a 21-5 record.

Andrew Bynum stalled again because of foul trouble and was thoroughly outdone on the stat sheet by Orlando center Dwight Howard.

Pau Gasol had only 11 points in 42 minutes.

Luke Walton (two points in nine minutes) was outplayed by the guy he replaced in the starting lineup six games ago, Vladimir Radmanovic, who was the fourth and final Laker off the bench but finished with nine points and four steals in 19 minutes.

Bryant had a season-high 41 points and Derek Fisher had 27 points, two shy of his career best, though the bounce that didn’t go the Lakers’ way will be the one remembered.

They had long since fumbled a nine-point halftime lead when Bryant drove the right side in the waning seconds and found Vujacic alone in the left corner.

Vujacic, who had missed all five of his shots at the time, made it a half-dozen.

“Those are the shots that I live for,” Vujacic said. “When I saw it come out, I was just shocked. It is just painful.”

He wasn’t the only one hurting.

Bynum picked up his second foul 1:05 into the game and never found any semblance of sync after that. He had three points, one rebounds and five fouls in 12 minutes.

Howard also had five fouls, though he managed to stay on the court for 31 minutes, collecting 18 points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals for Orlando (21-6).

“He’s a physical dude, so if he’s just driving into me, I’m not really going to let him get close to the basket, and I kept getting fouls,” Bynum said. “I can let him go, but I’m not going to let him go because I know that he’s the type of guy that if he gets a couple of dunks . . . “

Bryant, who missed the shot that could have sent Friday’s game to overtime, rebounded with a 25-point first half as the Lakers took a 58-49 halftime lead.

The Magic clamped down on him in the second half, aggressively sending two defenders whenever he touched the ball. Bryant scored his 41 points on 14-for-31 shooting.

“I was yelling at the guys, they kept giving the ball back to Kobe after he’d hit somebody in an open situation,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “He was dead-legged out there and really gave us a great effort for three quarters, but that fourth quarter, he was tired.”

Howard made two free throws after Vujacic’s miss, giving the Magic a 106-103 lead with 3.5 seconds left. Bryant’s long three-point heave hit the rim and bounced away at the buzzer.

After Monday’s game in Memphis, the Lakers play Tuesday in New Orleans before returning home to face Boston on Thursday, a game that has decreased in importance in the last 48 hours.

Said Bryant: “We just have to continue to move on.”

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com