LOS ANGELES -- The Magic are at such an uncertain crossroads we can't even be sure about how to classify the Lakers' victory over them.

For Los Angeles, it was a rare victory over one of the teams with the best records in the league. The Lakers are 4-5 against the best seven opponents they have faced: Cleveland (0-1), Dallas (2-1), Denver (0-1), Atlanta (1-0), San Antonio (0-1), Portland (0-1) and, by record, Orlando. But this Magic team isn't as good as its 26-14 record might indicate. Not at this juncture, when they've dropped seven of their past nine games and still are having trouble with the concept of inside-out basketball.

They need to take a break from the basketball game videos and watch the New York Jets. The Jets run the ball, then run it some more. Doesn't matter if they have the lead or if they're behind. The Magic started off with the basketball equivalent of the running game -- post play -- and fed Dwight Howard throughout the first half. He got his usual share of dunks, but also unveiled face-up jumpers off the glass and tried a couple of hook shots. He made 9 of 12 shots and had 18 points at halftime, the main reason the Magic kept pace with the hot-shooting Lakers (other than Kobe Bryant; more on that later).

But in the third quarter the Magic reverted and settled and got suckered. The best observation of the weekend was Phil Simms working the Jets-Chargers game and saying the Jets were just fine down 7-0 in the first half because the game was played in the style that was conducive to their winning. And so it was for the Magic. But after attempting 12 3-pointers in the first half, they took 12 in the third quarter, going back to their old free-flinging ways. Vince Carter took five shots (missing all of them) in the period and Howard took none. (And do you care to guess where Carter's shots came from? If you guessed far away from the basket, you get a cookie. Only one of his 11 attempts during the game came from inside the paint).

The Magic went on a 20-2 third-quarter run to take a nine-point lead, cresting after Howard came to the bench for his first break of the game. But they never established him again. The Lakers scored the first 15 points of the fourth. The points-in-the-paint category, which had been pretty even throughout the game, swung to the Lakers (16-6 in the final quarter). The Lakers were getting putbacks and second chances from offensive boards. They got transition baskets thanks to the backup backcourt of Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar, the stars of the game with a career-high 22 and 11 points, respectively.

Howard became invisible.

"First half, he dominated," Rashard Lewis said. "He scored a lot of points. Second half, they seemed to suck into the paint a lot more; that's why we were able to get a lot of open 3s."

They got them because that's exactly what the Lakers wanted them to take. (If they didn't see the Jets, they should have at least watched the season premiere of "24" and been wary of the obvious answer when it comes too easily.)

Howard began his postgame session with reporters by using his Charles Barkley voice.

"Stan Van Gundy needs to..." Dwight Barkley said, before he let that thought go and started making jokes about Krispy Kreme donuts.

The real Barkley would have said, "Stan Van Gundy needs to make sure Dwight Howard gets the damn ball."

There was talk in the Magic locker room of finding encouraging signs in the loss, taking positives where they can. The team still needs to find itself. The Magic have more of a Vince Carter identity than a Dwight Howard identity, and if Carter is going to be in and out of the lineup and in and out of games with injuries, as he was with a hurt shoulder Monday night, they won't be consistent. And inconsistency is their greatest enemy right now.

"We showed spots," Van Gundy said. "That's the problem. We're too streaky. We're not solid enough over the course of the game. We did play better than we have in a while. Which is, I guess, in some ways good. When you're where we're supposed to be and you say you've played better than you have in a while and you have a loss, it's not a good feeling."

The Lakers could claim a win despite a 4-for-19 shooting night from Bryant, whose fractured right index finger was hurting again.

"I hit it pretty good, like I did tonight, it feels fractured, you know what I mean?" Bryant said. "When you have that feeling, it starts throbbing, it's tough to shake it loose."

He still took his shots because that's what he does. The Lakers offense will always run through him; it's up to the rest to figure out their spots. Brown and Farmar did Monday, while Lamar Odom snuck around and grabbed 16 rebounds. As a result, it's the Magic who have to ask the questions.

J.A. Adande is an ESPN.com senior writer and the author of "The Best Los Angeles Sports Arguments." Click here to e-mail J.A.

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ESPN.com writers and TrueHoop Network bloggers chatted with fans and gave their in-game opinions throughout Monday night's games -- all in Daily Dime Live.