Lakers Escape 101-96 in Overtime

With the game tied at 88 and 9 seconds left on the clock, everyone in the world knew the ball was going to Kobe. He drove left and pulled up for a game-winning jump shot, the kind we’ve seen him take and make so many times before. Only this time Hedo Turkoglu, who had been beaten badly on the play, recovered and swatted the ball from behind. That set up a final opportunity for the Orlando Magic with only 6 tenths of a second remaining. The Magic ran a beautiful play, screening Kobe and getting an open lob to Courtney Lee. Lee was falling under the bucket and tried to spin the ball into the hoop off the backboard. It was as good a look as I’ve ever seen with that little time on the clock, but Lee put it up too strong and the game was off to overtime.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Lakers managed to pull away in overtime and take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Wagering Finals. Kobe Bryant led the way once again for the Lakers with 29 points, although it was no where near the performance he had in Game 1. Kobe struggled in this game with 7 turnovers, 3 of them coming in the 4th quarter. But this Lakers team is no one-man show. Pau Gasol had 24, including 7 points in overtime. He also did a great job defending Dwight Howard in the post, which was a huge factor because Andrew Bynum was limited to 16 minutes due to foul trouble.

The other Lakers big man, Lamar Odom, was also fantastic. He played nearly 46 minutes off the bench and went 8-9 from the field for 19 points. He also had 8 rebounds and 3 blocks, and he sunk two clutch free throws to seal the game in overtime. Derek Fisher was the other key contributor for LA. He’s been pretty awful in the playoffs, but his play in the Finals has been rock-solid. A lot of what he does won’t show up in the stat line, but he badly outplayed the Magic point guards. Coming into the series, point guard was considered a major positional strength for the Magic.

Orlando had every opportunity to win this game. The Lakers simply didn’t play great on either end of the floor. The Magic were held back by their turnovers and the lack of production from their backcourt. Orlando committed 20 turnovers, which led to 28 Lakers points. The biggest culprit was Howard with 7, although Hedo was close behind with 5. In the backcourt, Lee, Redick, Nelson, Pietrus and Alston went 6-26 (23%) from the field. They were missing one wide-open look after another. Alston and Redick alone were 3-17.

The Lakers are playing tough, aggressive defense on Dwight Howard on the inside, but they’re leaving perimeter guys wide open. The Magic simply haven’t been able to capitalize. That’s going to have to change if they want to at least take a game in this series. The Magic’s big three of Turkoglu, Lewis and Howard actually played quite well (except for the turnovers). Turkoglu had 22, Howard had 17 and Lewis had 34, which led all players. Together they shot 25-48 (52%).

The 1st quarter set the tone for what was an ugly game throughout. The teams ended the quarter tied 15-15. Those 30 points were the least that have ever been scored in the opening frame of an NBA Finals game. In the 2nd quarter Rashard Lewis took over. He scored 18 of the Magic’s 20 points in the period.

The series goes to Orlando on Tuesday for Game 3. The Magic are currently a four point favorite at the BetOnline NBA sportsbook for that contest. The Lakers are heavily favored for the series at -800 (the Magic are +500).