The Los Angeles Lakers lost a nail-biter to the Orlando Magic tonight, missing a potential game-winner at the buzzer to let the Magic sneak away with a 110-109 win. The sequence itself was very unexpected; the usually prepared and ready-for-the-moment guard, Luka Doncic, looked completely out of sorts, hesitating on an open shot before passing it to LeBron James at the buzzer. After the game, many parties weighed in.

“I’m not sure,” James told reporters when asked about Doncic passing up the shot. “You have to ask Luka what he saw on that. But I thought he had a good look, and it looked like he kind of just lost his balance. Didn’t have a rhythm with the ball, whatever the case may be.”

So clearly, James believe the shot was there, and he was caught off-guard when he was passed the ball, even admitting that he was off balance. For him, Doncic seemingly didn’t take the shot due to a multitude of factors, and by the time he was ready, the defender had recovered.

Head coach JJ Redick also spoke up, choosing to zoom out to the last 36 seconds. He explained that the strategy was for the Lakers to attempt a two-for-one, eventually generating a wide open three for Rui Hachimura, which Redick noted was “one of the best shots that we can get.” On the final possession, he noted a strong screen from Austin Reaves, and James creating downhill pressure to take pressure off Doncic.

“You go into this game with their size and their strength, you know it’s going to be a rock fight,” Redick concluded. “We lose the scoring opportunity by eight in a one-point game. That’s the game. We had more turnovers than them, and they got more offensive rebounds than us.”

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He also wondered if Doncic anticipated an overhelp from Jonathan Isaac and made the extra pass early, but only Doncic knows why he did what he did.

Luka Doncic Admits Hesitation Cost the Lakers the Game Against the Magic

Luka Doncic eventually addressed the shot he passed up on in his own post-game conference.

“I know I was open, but I just thought I was a little bit far, so I took one dribble closer,” Doncic explained. “Probably shouldn’t have picked up the ball, just trying to attack.”

Doncic had an especially difficult game today, with almost none of his shots dropping. He dropped 22 points and 15 assists, but converted just eight of his 24 attempts from the field. He also missed five of his nine free throws, a margin that ended up proving costly for the Lakers.

The Slovenian guard explained that he tried to recalibrate in less than a second, and not planning out a move like the one he attempted, especially in late-game situations like tonight, can prove to be extremely costly.

That extra moment of doubt gave Magic star Paolo Banchero enough time to fully recover from the action the Lakers ran, and despite the play being successful in generating space, the game simply fell out of their grasp, with hesitation proving decisive.