The end of Lakers vs. Magic was frustrating for LA fans.

It was a close battle throughout the second half, but the Lakers were in the driver’s seat, up by two, with possession of the ball and 39 seconds remaining.

From that point on, the Lakers missed four of the six free throws they took and lost the game by the narrowest of margins, 119–118.

The team’s two best players, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were the culprits of the missed free throws.

It was a shock that they couldn’t convert and it was frustrating to see the joy of victory turn into the pain of defeat due to uncontested shots at the basket by your best players.

After the loss, Lakers guard Austin Reaves found himself in a rare position where he had to stand up for the two stars and he did just that.

“I think we want AD and LeBron on the line no matter what,” Reaves said. “We trust those guys to knock down those shots no matter what. The next game we’re going to give them the ball every time. They have the confidence to hit it.”

Now in his fourth season, Reaves has had his fair share of ups and downs in his career. It’s not surprising that he will defend the best players and he knows better than anyone what they can do on a nightly basis.

Basketball is just like any other court. You have good days and bad days.

Was it weird that both LeBron and AD made it from the charity stripe? Absolute.

However, with so many games in a season, rare nights like this will occur. I would venture to guess that we will never have another game this season where this pair goes 2-6 from the foul line, costing the Lakers the game.

While many focus on the final possession, LeBron also spoke after the game about how a bad stretch in the third quarter had as much of an impact on the outcome as anything that happened in the late game.

Ultimately, this frustrating game reminds the Lakers that while they are off to a nice 10-5 start, there is still work to be done to achieve their main goal.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.