Better a rematch with hated Boston than having to face the surging Magic again.

A month after the Lakers lost a tight game at Orlando, the dominance of center Dwight Howard and the Magic's three-point shooting again proved too much for LA on Friday night. And Jameer Nelson outplayed Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter, delivering the Lakers their second straight loss, 109-103, and spoiling Bryant's first triple-double since 2005.

"They hit big shots and took advantage of our weaknesses," Lakers forward Trevor Ariza said. "They're a good team. You can't take anything away from them, beating us on our home court."

If the Magic wasn't mentioned in the same breath as the Lakers, Celtics and Cavaliers before, it's a lot more difficult to dismiss Orlando now. The Magic (32-8) surpassed LA's best-in-the-West record (31-8) by completing its first season sweep of the Lakers, and became only the third team to defeat the Lakers at Staples Center this season.

After the Lakers fell just short in Wednesday's loss at San Antonio, it appeared they might hold off Orlando when a putback by Pau Gasol (13 points) gave them a 103-101 lead with less than a minute left. But Nelson, who scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and 10 of Orlando's last 12, nailed a 28-footer from the right wing over the outstretched arms of Lamar Odom, silencing the crowd and giving the Magic a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Bryant missed his last six shots, including two that could have changed the game - the first an errant 20-footer with 18 seconds left that could have given the Lakers the lead, and the second a potential game-tying three with 7 seconds left that rattled in and out. He finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists . . . and a very sour taste in his mouth.

"I had a great look, a great, great look, and it just didn't stay down for me," he said.

It's a testament to Orlando's status as under-the-radar contender that its visit to Staples lacked the all-consuming fanfare of last month's Celtics showdown or next Monday's matchup with the Cavs.

There were no derogatory signs or profane chants from the crowd, nor were fans lined up at the entrances hours before tip-off. In fact, pockets of seats were empty deep into the first half.

Those fans who didn't arrive on time missed a solid defensive first half from the Lakers, who built a 52-44 lead by holding Howard to nine points and limiting the Magic to 36.4 percent shooting. The defense deteriorated quickly, however, as Orlando reeled off a 25-6 third-quarter run fueled by eight Lakers turnovers, transforming a 10-point deficit into a nine-point Magic lead.

Howard had 16 of his 25 points and 13 of his 20 rebounds after the break.

"It was very similar to the first game," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We didn't have much energy the first half. I don't think we competed very hard defensively. And then we came out and went on a big run to start the second half and got a little bit of a cushion."