Double the fun for LA
Lakers win in OT and lead series, 2-0
LOS ANGELES - Still winless in NBA Finals history, Orlando is now hoping for some magic back home.
The Magic dropped to 0-6 in the Finals with a 101-96 overtime loss in Game 2 of the championship series to the Lakers last night at
The Magic's previous four losses in the Finals came when they were swept by Houston in 1995.
"We just got to go home and take care of business," Magic center Dwight Howard said. "The Lakers did a good job of taking care of home. We have to do the same thing. We've been in tough situations before. We just have to fight our way out."
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored 29 points, dished 8 assists, and had 7 turnovers. The Lakers' Pau Gasol had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and fellow forward Lamar Odom added 19 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. Los Angeles outscored Orlando, 13-8, in OT.
Orlando rookie Courtney Lee missed a potential winning layup as time expired.
"I don't think we dodged a bullet," Bryant said. "I think they played extremely well and we played to win."
Magic forward Rashard Lewis scored a game-high 34 points and nailed six 3-pointers. Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu had 22 points and 5 turnovers while Howard had 17 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 7 turnovers. The Magic gave up 28 points on 20 turnovers.
"I thought our guys fought hard, but we couldn't make enough plays," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "And the 20 turnovers crushed us."
Said Lewis, "When you lose a game like that, [individual stats] don't really mean anything."
The Lakers finished the first half with a 40-35 lead after receiving no more than 7 points from any starter. Lewis scored 20 of Orlando's 35 points by halftime after his team shot 32.4 percent from the field and made 5 of 16 3-point attempts. The Magic scored 30 points in the third to take a 65-63 lead.
With the shot clock at 2, Turkoglu nailed a jumper to give Orlando an 88-86 lead with 47.7 seconds remaining. Gasol's layin tied the game at 88 with 33.5 seconds left.
Lee, who had 2 points at the time, missed a layup with 10.9 seconds left. With 1.2 seconds left, however, Bryant's jumper was blocked from behind by Turkoglu. He retrieved the ball and immediately called timeout with 0.6 seconds left in regulation.
After receiving a screen from Howard, Lee got open for an alley-oop. But after Turkoglu threw a short pass, Lee's wide-open attempt to lay the ball in at the buzzer rolled out and sent the game to OT.
"He missed it," Van Gundy said. "I don't know what else to say. Hedo made a great pass, and we missed it. I don't really know [why]. I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt. I just don't know what to say about it.
"It was a great pass. It was right there. And he missed it."
"I was surprised," Gasol said. "It was wide-open."
Gasol's 3-point play with 1:14 left in OT finalized a 7-0 run to push Los Angeles ahead, 97-91. J.J. Redick's layin brought Orlando within 97-93 with 56.7 seconds to go. But two Gasol free throws gave Los Angeles at least a two-possession lead, 99-93, with 28.2 seconds left.
Lewis's 3-pointer with 26.2 seconds left sliced Orlando's deficit to 99-96. But Lamar Odom nailed two free throws with 22.1 seconds left.
"It was definitely a very good team effort down the stretch," Gasol said. "We understood that we had to get this done and how well we could do it. We did it, and we're definitely excited about it."
The Finals now shifts to Orlando for the first time since 1995 with Game 3 tomorrow night, and Game 4 Thursday.
"It's going to be a big event for their town," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We know there is going to be a lot of energy that's surrounding their team."
Van Gundy was working for the Heat when they overcome an 0-2 deficit against Dallas in the 2006 Finals before winning the last four games. He also talked to his players after Game 2 about how they overcome challenges against Boston and Philadelphia in previous series in these playoffs to eventually win.
"Bottom line is we came here for two games and we didn't get the job done," Van Gundy said. "I've seen series turn, as I told them. I was still in Miami in 2006 when they lost both games in Dallas and then were way down in the third quarter in Game 3 at home, came back and won that one. Dallas never won another game.
"You know, series can change. You've got to take it one game at a time."
Said Lewis, "We're looking forward to going home with a lot of energy in the building, and hopefully we'll get wins when we come back home."
