Kobe Bryant sat out for the fifth time this season due to rest, as the Los Angeles Lakers crushed the Orlando Magic, 101-84.

Bryant was a late scratch, as Byron Scott opted to rest him after Kobe turned in an abysmal performance Wednesday night against the Clippers, scoring just four points on 2 of 12 shooting to go with six turnovers. In his place, Ryan Kelly got the starting nod and put in his best performance of the season.

Kelly poured in 13 points and grabbed eight boards on 3 of 10 shooting, with all three of his field goals coming from beyond the arc. He played a team-high 37 minutes.

Wesley Johnson continued to sit out with a hip injury, as Wayne Ellington took his spot in the starting lineup once again. Johnson is expected to retun on Sunday. Meanwhile, Ronnie Price returned to the lineup after a one game absence due to a broken nose and flu.

The Lakers frontcourt was the story tonight. Their starting frontcourt combined for 34 points and 27 rebounds. Offensive rebounding was another key for the Lakers’ victory, as the team grabbed 18 offensive rebounds compared to only four for Orlando. As a result, the Lakers out-rebounded the Magic in total rebounds, 60-36, which is a huge discrepancy.

The Orlando Magic were hanging close in this game all the way to the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter is when the Lakers took charge, outscoring the Magic, 28-17.

It was Lakers’ newly acquired, undrafted rookie big man, Tarik Black, who sparked the Lakers to victory. Black did not play in the first half, but Coach Byron Scott elected to play him in the second half in place of Robert Sacre, and it paid dividends.

The 23-year-old out of Kansas put in a season-high 14 points and collected nine rebounds on perfect 4 of 4 shooting from the field and 6 of 7 shooting from the costless-throw line in 17 minutes of play. His energy and hustle ignited his teammates, as Carlos Boozer came alive late in the fourth.

Boozer finished the game with 12 points and 14 rebounds on 50 percent shooting. Jeremy Lin led the team in scoring, assists, and steals off the bench in this one, though. He pushed in 18 points, six assists, and four steals. Surprisingly, he also added two blocks.

Nick Young, however, was unable to pull himself out of his shooting slump. Young scored just nine points on a brutal 2 of 13 shooting, including 0 for 6 from three.

“The one thing he (Young) should probably do is come a little earlier and get shots up,” Scott said.

The Magic were lackluster in the fourth quarter, as they shot just 5 of 14 in the period and saw the game slowly slip away from them. What’s more, Evan Fournier unfortunately hyperextended his knee with 16 seconds left in the game. He was able to remain on the floor and hit his costless throws, but his status along with Tobias Harris’, who sprained his ankle in this game, is unknown for the next contest. 

For the Magic, big man Nikola Vucevic posted another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Victor Oladipo scored a team-high 17 points, and Harris added 15.

After the game, Tarik Black spoke to reporters about his play. “I knew what happened, but it just took place so it was on to the next phase,” Black said about the Houston Rockets’ decision to waive him. “The next thing was to come, and it was the blessing of coming here (Los Angeles) and in being here, I just worked hard every day when I went to practice, never complained, and it’s worked out for me this far. I just pray it continues to go, and I don’t know what the future holds, but I just continue to work hard.”

With his incredible performance tonight, Black probably earned himself a new role as the backup center ahead of Sacre.

With this win, the Lakers improve to 12-25, while the Orlando Magic have now lost five consecutive games and drop to 13-26.

The Lakers will face the Portland Trail Blazers at home in their next game on Sunday to try and avenge their loss to Portland in the beginning of the week. Orlando’s next opponent is Portland as well, a game that will be played tomorrow, January 10th.