Lakers 101, Magic 96: Postgame 2
$Bill
Trudell
TeamIt took overtime for the Lakers to find the same effort they'd put
forth in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but at the end of a sunny Sunday
afternoon in Los Angeles, the home team managed to seal a five-point
win that secured a 2-0 series lead, a luxury the Lakers didn't have
against either Houston or Denver in the West.
"We just drove ourselves through the game, " said Phil Jackson, whose
team trailed by two heading into the fourth quarter and nearly lost at
the buzzer. "I didn't think Kobe (Bryant) had a good game at all as
far as his standards go (but) we had other guys contribute. Lamar
(Odom) had an outstanding game ... He came through in a big way for
us."
That "almost lost" came after Bryant appeared to get hit on the arm
with 0.6 seconds left on the clock before his attempt at a game winner
was blocked, allowing Courtney Lee a chance to convert an alley-oop off
the inbounds pass at the other end as regulation time expired, but he
missed.
"There is a sense of relief because they played very well, " said
Jackson. "However, we had the ball at the end of the game with nine
seconds after making a really good defensive play. We didn't get a
good shot ... But (that) disappointment didn't weigh us down going into
overtime."
Though Orlando never led by more than three points, L.A. was able to
respond to the adjustments the Magic made in no small part because of
Odom, as alluded to by his coach.
While Bryant led the way with 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting plus eight
assists, L.O. was fantastic in chalking up 19 points, eight boards, two
assists and three blocks on 8-of-9 shooting in 45 minutes off the bench
with Andrew Bynum in foul trouble all game. Odom made shots from all
over the court to get his eight field goals, but it was two clutch free
throws with 22.1 seconds left in OT that turned a three-point lead into
a five-point edge and ultimately sealed the deal for L.A.
"Lamar just had a great, great game, particularly in the fourth
quarter, " said Bryant after Odom scored eight points with three boards
in the final regulation quarter.
The home team, who's still undefeated this season while wearing its
Sunday white uniforms, needed every one of Odom's points as Orlando
sent consistent double teams at Bryant, which worked for the majority
of regulation as his non-Odom teammates struggled to hit shots. Most
notably, a 4-for-11 start from Pau Gasol and Trevor Ariza's 3-for-13
didn't help. But in the overtime, in stepped Gasol and Derek Fisher.
First, Gasol drew a foul off Fisher's penetration and hit both from the
line (10-of-11 in the game). Next was a tough Kobe jumper over Hedo
Turkoglu, and then a huge defensive play from Fisher, who stepped into
the passing lane to intercept a JJ Redick pass before drawing a foul
and sinking both foul shots at the other end to put L.A. up 94-91. If
that wasn't the game's biggest play, then Gasol's and-1 layup off
Bryant's dish was, as it gave the Lakers a 6-point lead that Orlando
couldn't overcome despite finding its three-point shooting stroke.
"The three-point shooters seemed to flourish tonight, " said Jackson,
noting Rashard Lewis and Turkoglu's combined nine triples. "It kept
them in the ball game."
What hurt the Magic, on the other hand, were 20 turnovers, resulting in
28 Lakers points, because L.A. knew the Magic were going to shoot much
better than the 29-percent-effort in Game 1 of the Finals, and they
did, netting 41.8 percent of their looks. The knew the general effort
of Orlando would be much better, and it was, shown through a 44-35 edge
on the glass that limited the Lakers to only four offensive boards.
Furthermore, the Lakers mustered just 28 points in the paint after
going off for 56 in Game 1, but they simply fought their way to a
victory.
"They played extremely well, but we played well enough to win, "
concluded Bryant.
Dwight Howard's 17-point, 16-board double-double and 56 combined points
from Lewis and Turkoglu were leaps and bounds better than the
threesome's Game 1 performance, but it wasn't quite good enough.
"We wanted to win this game just to keep the pressure on them, " said
Odom. "Both teams want this. It was is tough for us last year,
getting embarrassed in Boston. I guess with this win, we kind of kept
that pressure on. But we still have to take care of business, just
focus on each possession."
In two days, they'll get a chance to do just that.
Until then, a few numbers:
1 Shot taken by Courtney Lee before he found the ball in his hands with
consecutive chances to potentially win the game in the final 10 seconds
of the fourth quarter. He missed both looks from close range as L.A.
sent the game into overtime.
4 Threes made by the Lakers in the first half, one more than was made
in the entire Game 1.
7 L.A.'s biggest lead in a closely-contested ball game that saw the
Magic have no higher than a three-point advantage.
10 Points in the paint by the Lakers in the first half.
20 Shots missed by Orlando's guards on 26 attempts, including Rafer
Alston's 1-of-8 and JJ Redick's 2-of-9.
20 Shots made by Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis on 38 attempts,
including nine of Orlando's 10 three-point makes.
30 Orlando's third quarter scoring output on 11-of-19 shooting,
including 5-of-6 from Hedo Turkoglu, which turned a 5-point Magic
deficit into a 2-point lead heading into the fourth.
85.7 L.A.'s free throw percentage on 24-of-28 makes, including 9-of-9
in the overtime.