Five takeaways from the Lakers’ loss to Orlando

Here are five things to take away from the Lakers’ 101-99 loss to the Magic on Wednesday night in Orlando:

1) Every game he plays in, it seems as if Larry Nance Jr. gets better and better.

Wednesday night was just the fourth of his career, but Nance was very impressive.

He scored a career-high 13 points, making all six of his shots from the field, including his only three-pointer.

Not bad for the rookie who didn’t play in the first four games this season.

“It’s just about working hard. It’s watching film,” Nance Jr. said. “I’m just trying to play my role.”

2) For the second straight game, Metta World Peace started in place of the injured Kobe Bryant (sore back). And for the second straight game, World Peace was solid at playing his small forward position.

World Peace had nine points on four-for-seven shooting.

He played solid defense in the 27 minutes, 36 seconds he got to play.

3) Lou Williams’ jumper might be broken right now, but he still found a way to score the basketball against the Magic.

Williams scored 13 points on just two-for-eight shooting. He missed all three of his three-pointers.

But Williams was nine-for-10 from the free-throw line.

And he even was called upon to take the game-winning shot for the Lakers. But his runner was an air ball, leaving the score tied at 99-99.

4) The Lakers played good defense against the Magic, holding Orlando to 40% shooting. But the Magic took over the backboards, out-rebounding the Lakers 54-43. The Magic had 23 offensive rebounds.

“Teams are killing us on the offensive glass,” Lakers Coach Byron Scott said. “Our guys have to do a much better job of finishing the play.”

5) It was a tough night for Jordan Clarkson.

The second-year guard had just four points on two-for-seven shooting.

He played 25:32 and wasn’t much of a factor.

Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter: @BA_Turner