Howard steals the spotlight

Every shot seemed like a big one, and Dwight Howard loved it.

The Orlando Magic center has already won an Olympic gold medal at age 23, and he leads the NBA in rebounding and blocked shots, but Friday night was a different experience.

“I have never been in a situation like that,” said Howard, who had 25 points and 20 rebounds in the Magic’s back-and-forth 109-103 victory over the Lakers.

“It was fun. The fans were into it, we were into it. Every time we missed a shot, I was like, ‘Uh-oh, the Lakers are going to score.’ I was like, ‘Kobe is not going to miss in the fourth quarter.’ ”

But Kobe Bryant’s three-point attempt rimmed out with 8.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Lakers down, 106-103.

“It came in, it went in, and it came out,” Howard said. “I was like, ‘Yes.’ ”

The Lakers, of course, wanted to say no to the whole evening.

It was another last-minute loss, their second in a row, though it didn’t leave the same sensation as a 112-111 defeat two nights earlier in San Antonio, where they made a game run in the fourth quarter against a veteran team in one of the league’s most difficult environments.

On Friday, they were simply outmuscled and outmatched by Orlando at Staples Center.

Andrew Bynum had 14 points and only three rebounds. Pau Gasol had 13 points on shaky five-for-13 shooting.

In other words, Howard owned the paint.

“We didn’t do a good job corralling him, staying on top of him,” Bryant said. “We let him catch the ball deep and finish.”

Bryant had a triple-double, but he missed eight of his last nine shots, including six attempts in the final 76 seconds. He finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, though he made only 10 of 26 shots.

The Lakers were swept in the two-game season series against Orlando, one of three championship-caliber teams from the Eastern Conference.

“Well, they are with us,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. “If we have to match up, we know that we’re playing from a deficit against them because of these two losses that we’ve had.”

This being the NBA, with its 82-game schedule, there’s always a chance at redemption around the next corner. The Lakers have another home game against another East heavyweight Monday night.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (31-7) have the league’s best record. The Lakers (31-8) hope to take it back soon.

“We have a big game coming up,” forward Lamar Odom said after Friday’s loss. “I’m going to go home, get a good night’s sleep, get a day off, watch some film, lift some weights, and get ready for practice Sunday to get ready for one of the league’s best teams.”

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Etc.

The Lakers did not practice Saturday. . . . Luke Walton might play against Cleveland if he makes it through today’s practice without any pain in his sore right foot. Walton has missed eight consecutive games.

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