The Los Angeles Lakers limped to the finish line of an eight-game homestand with a mediocre 4-4 record following a dramatic 110-109 loss to the Orlando Magic. It came just days after a 111-89 blowout at the hands of the rival Boston Celtics, bringing them down to 34-23 for the season.

Deandre Ayton, who starred with 21 points and 13 rebounds against the Magic, said something that may as well be true for a majority of fans as well.

“It's a bit upsetting. We still got a lot of chances to just get in as good of a position as we can. Did feel weird in the homestand, just being 4-4,” he explained, per ESPN.

The Lakers did play some big teams during the stretch, including the Celtics, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the San Antonio Spurs.

“It was tough losses and played against some really good teams. But … just get back in the lab and just get ready for the next game,” Ayton concluded.

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The collapse against Orlando was especially concerning. It was their first loss of the season after holding a lead post three quarters, a scenario during which they were 25-0 coming into the matchup.

Despite mounting a 12-point second-half advantage fueled by Austin Reaves scoring all 18 of his points after the intermission, the Lakers' defense cratered. They were torched by Paolo Banchero's 36-point masterpiece, with Wendell Carter Jr.'s game-winning putback coming with just 6.7 seconds on the clock.

As a matter of fact, Ayton proved to be the silver lining, which is exactly what happened with LeBron against the Celtics. The 41-year-old became the first NBA player to score more than 43,000 points and tied Robert Parish for the second-most regular-season games in NBA history, with 1600.

However, the Lakers ended up losing both games, albeit they were very much alive until the end against Orlando.