It was a script made for Hollywood.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis had their best final act, scoring the final 23 points of the Los Angeles Lakers’ fourth quarter. But when the Hall of Famers missed four of their last six free throws, they left the door open for another star.

Enter Franz Wagner, whose step-back three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left hit nothing but nylon to give the Orlando Magic their best win of the season, 119-118.

“It was big,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “They missed the free throw, make it a two-point game. He’s coming down, don’t have to rush, line him up. That’s the point, we’re working on those distance situations, those shots. He’s working on those shots .” He’s not afraid of big moments, and that’s what we asked him to do.”

Three starters down – All-Star Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. due to injury and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope due to the birth of his family’s fifth child – a showdown against the powerful Lakers would be a challenge enough. Not to mention the second night of a back-to-back against a team that hadn’t lost at home.

But Orlando kept pace with the host Lakers, with the help of a little luck and a lot of Wagner.

“I couldn’t be happier for this team, but also for him, who puts in such an amazing amount of work, to see that fall,” Mosley continued. “This group fights. They fought all game, and I can’t say enough about this group, I can’t say enough about Franz.”

Two possessions earlier and the Magic two down, Wagner had a three-hit leading edge. Davis split the pair to make it a four-point game, then Wagner quickly drove to the basket to once again draw within two. After two more Davis misses, the scene was set.

“I was a little upset that I missed the first one, so I was happy to get another chance,” Wagner said in his on-court postgame interview.

Paired with Davis, Jalen Suggs’ screen switched Cam Reddish to Wagner. Between the legs, between the legs, step back three.

Curtains.

As Jalen Suggs took his place at the microphone, he could only laugh when asked to share his take on Wagner’s triple.

“I just stared at him and said, ‘Bow, you gotta hit it,’” Suggs said, his smile beaming from ear to ear. “Man, he grabbed his bag, stepped back, shot the rainbow and it went in.

“Yes, Boogie is special, I’m not going to lie. That’s crazy,” Suggs continued. “That’s like a movie moment.”

Wagner emphasized that he was only looking for the best shot and was not determined to hit a game-winning three.

“They were set up pretty well, so I didn’t really see a lane,” he said. “I felt like the last one felt really good. At times like that you don’t really think much, but I think I made a good choice.

“When you’re two down, you never want to settle for a shot, but the way they played against me… I work a lot on my off-the-dribble three, and you work on it for those moments,” Wagner added. . “I went in with confidence and felt very good.”

Wagner finished with a season-high 37 points — including 15 in the fourth quarter — to go with six rebounds, 11 assists and four steals.

Suggs added 23 points with five threes. Moe Wagner added a season-high 19 off the bench.

Davis and James combined to score 70 points all night, and Dalton Knecht had 17.

But it’s a long, happy flight home for the Magic, who finished the road trip 2-1 and improved to 10-7 on the season.

The Magic return home on Saturday night for a one-off home game against the Detroit Pistons. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM ET at the Kia Center.

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