On a shaky night, duplicating a high-scoring performance wasn’t part of the storyline. On a night that demanded nail biting other than Kobe Bryant’s clenching his teeth as if he was a fierce creature, none of his bitter teeth were unfurled in tense moments, fans were biting nails, shriveling scared and worried plenty about the final results.
An overtime decided the Lakers fate as it decided the Magic’s season at the end of regulation, when Orlando’s rookie blown a near-miracle shot that would have been the most amazing shot made in the postseason and astonishing than The Shot, LeBron James hammered in the closing seconds of Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Amid the Magic chance to awe and soothe the fans nerve reactions back in Orlando failed to ease jitters, in a night when a win was desperation and pivotal. From history, specifics contribute evidence of teams trailing Finals down 2-0 usually misses out on capturing the hardware.
Since arriving to face the Lakers, the magical shooting touch has lost its touch, with shooting debacles that have characterized them as a superb shot-making team all season.
In a tense fourth quarter it almost morphed a magical epic classic, when Orlando’s rookie Courtney Lee outraced Bryant to the basket setting up and levitated missing a heartbreaking layup.
All of this was impelled off a heaving inbound lob from Hedo Turkoglu that was executed perfectly, but unfinished ending regulation and forcing overtime.
There wasn’t much efficient shooting from Bryant, nor was there superior ball-handling from the Magic, whose lives were spared in the first-half, with an unstoppable and exterior shooter Rashard Lewis, bombing treys into the fiery nets rarely missing.
If it wasn’t for his potent shooting, in likelihood the Lakers could have easily controlled, well on the way to another demolition.
If there are no smiles on the face of a good-natured Dwight Howard, feasibly an ebullient and unfaltering force in the middle has had a futile Superman-type scoring offering, yielding a game-high seven turnovers to go with their 20 turnovers.
Bryant was as awful turning it over seven times, tying an impotent Howard, who’s not Kryptonite as advertized.
In the meantime, for those keeping track of Kobe’s legacy that has been mentioned in conversions since the start of the series, he certainly didn’t duplicate heroic or epic shot after shot finesse, struggling to assimilate rhythm merely scoring 29 points.
Nevertheless, the Lakers are dimensional without Shaquille O’Neal, only two games away from winning No. 15 as Phil Jackson, the coaching guru will collect No. 10 title. Kobe’s legacy is the last thing on his mind, completing focus and anxious of hanging another title banner in the rafters and celebrating.
With his zest for the game, all Kobe cares about are wins, and would attempt anything dramatic and unforeseen to avoid losing. And for the Lakers, who score 15 points in the first quarter, as far they were concerned, taking a commanding 2-0 lead meant much.
Not only does it inch the Lakers closer to accomplishing a championship pursuit, but it identified talent. They are fundamentally sound, finally challenging at will. More shots are being contested and teams up on Howard, camping out in the middle to bother and thwart post dominance.
Much of the Lakers success happens to be a revamp of failures, avenging a humiliating letdown. Pau Gasol, in one season, has transformed into a much-physical presence in the middle, when last season he was the scapegoat for most of their collapse.
Thus far, a much-malign Gasol hasn’t indicated softness, now poise and forceful inside, collecting boards with serious stare. In overtime, he dazzled with seven points, fueling a 7-0 run with contributions from Lamar Odom, who dominated and controlled tempo in the fourth quarter, and Derek Fisher, who knocked in some jumpers.
And even Kobe, who never showed much of his facial expressions on Sunday, despite salvaging a, 101-96, win to agonize the Magic. A lost added to the Magic’s blunders in Finals appearance, now losing all six games, dating back to 1995 when they were swept Shaq and Penny Hardaway were swept by overmatched Houston.
It’s no match, if the Magic fails on limiting the turnover ratio, and shoots ineffectively from beyond the arch. They were 1-for-12 from beyond the perimeter, as Lewis nailed all six three-pointers made to finish with 34 points, outscoring Mr. Amazing.
Most of Kobe struggles came when the Magic employed double-teams and traps, inevitable for him to drive brilliantly without some type of physical heckling. The key play in the game was Bryant’s unselfishness, confident passing to Gasol, who finalized the outcome with a three-point play in the final minutes of a thrilling overtime.
Considering the win, it determined the series in which the Magic can’t match the intensity or toughness of the Lakers. They couldn’t stop Bryant in Game One, and now can’t slow down an aggressive Gasol.
The Finals have turned into an international brand as the European dominance better than Superman, scoring 24 points and outscored Orlando’s superhero Howard, who settled for 17 points and 16 rebounds. Not enough facing a much-dominate, tougher and physical Gasol.
The Lakers, in general, are feeling the 15th title.
