NBA Finals Game 2: Lakers 101 Magic 96 OT
The Magic, despite a poor shooting first half and a litany of turnovers throughout the game, gave Los Angeles all they could handle as the Lakers escaped with the victory in overtime, as the Magic missed a brilliant chance to win the game in regulation at the buzzer, with Courtney Lee's running layup attempt off a Hedo Turkoglu inbounds pass with .6 seconds remaining was just a little strong.
Both teams started out bad, as they combined for a Finals-record low 30 points in the first quarter tied at 15 after one. The Magic never could get the lead in the second quarter as the Lakers went into the half with a 40-35 lead.
After the Magic closed within 40-37 to open the third, neither team had more than a three point lead as the Magic had their best quarter of the finals, scoring 30 points for a 65-63 advantage going into the fourth. Once again in the fourth, neither team had more than a three point lead. The Magic's last lead came at 88-86 with 47 seconds remaining after a Turkoglu jumper, but a Pau Gasol layup tied it at 88. The Lakers had their own chance to win late, but Bryant's runner in the lane was blocked from behind by Turkoglu, which set up the final play of regulation for the Magic which came so close to being a game-winner.
The Magic's only lead of the overtime was 91-90, with the Lakers taking the lead for good 92-91 with 2:18 remaining, with their lead as much as 97-91 with 1:14 remaining. The Magic came within 99-96 with 26.2 seconds remaining, but free throws clinched the win for the Lakers.
Magic leading scorers
Rashard Lewis: 34 points (12 of 21 field goals, 6 of 12 three point FGs), 11 rebounds, 7 assists
Hedo Turkoglu: 22 points (8 of 17 field goals, 3 of 6 three point FGs), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 turnovers
Dwight Howard: 17 points (5 of 10 field goals, 7 of 9 free throws), 16 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 blocks, 7 turnovers
Los Angeles leading scorers
Kobe Bryant: 29 points (10 of 22 field goals, 8 of 10 free throws), 8 assists, 2 steals, 7 turnovers
Pau Gasol: 24 points (7 of 14 field goals, 10 of 11 free throws), 10 rebounds, 2 steals
Lamar Odom: 19 points (8 of 9 field goals), 8 rebounds
Derek Fisher: 12 points (4 of 9 field goals), 3 steals
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: LA 46.2% (36 of 78) ORL 41.8% (33 of 79)
3 PT FG%: ORL 33.3% (10 of 30) LA 33.3% (5 of 15)
FT%: LA 85.7% (24 of 28) ORL 74.1% (20 of 27)
REB: ORL 44 (10 offensive) LA 35 (4 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 22/20 LA 20/12
BENCH: LA 23 ORL 17
Other game notes and stats:
-Lewis, Turkoglu, and Howard combined to shoot 25 of 48 for 73 points; the rest of the Magic 8 of 31 for 23 points
-The Magic shot just 4 of 14 in the first quarter, and 12 of 37 for the first half
-Lewis scored 18 of the Magic's 20 second quarter points on 7 of 10 shooting, including 4 of 6 three pointers; the rest of the Magic combined to shoot 1 of 13 in the quarter
-Lewis shot 8 of 12 in the first half; the rest of the Magic combined to shoot 4 of 25
-The Magic shot 21 of 41 from the field in the second half and overtime
-Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee combined to shoot 2 of 11 for 6 points, and were outscored by the Lakers' starting guards 41-6
-Alston did have a 5/1 assist/turnover ratio
-Jameer Nelson played nearly 17 minutes off the bench, scoring 4 points on 1 of 3 shooting with an assist
-J.J. Redick led the Magic bench with 5 points, but shot just 2 of 9, including 1 of 6 three pointers
-The Magic bench combined to shoot 6 of 20 from the field, including 1 of 8 three pointers
-The Magic starting frontline outscored the Lakers starting frontline 73-37, and outrebounded them 33-18
-The Lakers made 20 of 21 free throws in the second half and overtime
Here is the complete box score from nba.com
Here is the complete recap from Yahoo! Sports
Game 3 will be Tuesday night in Orlando.
Both teams started out bad, as they combined for a Finals-record low 30 points in the first quarter tied at 15 after one. The Magic never could get the lead in the second quarter as the Lakers went into the half with a 40-35 lead.
After the Magic closed within 40-37 to open the third, neither team had more than a three point lead as the Magic had their best quarter of the finals, scoring 30 points for a 65-63 advantage going into the fourth. Once again in the fourth, neither team had more than a three point lead. The Magic's last lead came at 88-86 with 47 seconds remaining after a Turkoglu jumper, but a Pau Gasol layup tied it at 88. The Lakers had their own chance to win late, but Bryant's runner in the lane was blocked from behind by Turkoglu, which set up the final play of regulation for the Magic which came so close to being a game-winner.
The Magic's only lead of the overtime was 91-90, with the Lakers taking the lead for good 92-91 with 2:18 remaining, with their lead as much as 97-91 with 1:14 remaining. The Magic came within 99-96 with 26.2 seconds remaining, but free throws clinched the win for the Lakers.
Magic leading scorers
Rashard Lewis: 34 points (12 of 21 field goals, 6 of 12 three point FGs), 11 rebounds, 7 assists
Hedo Turkoglu: 22 points (8 of 17 field goals, 3 of 6 three point FGs), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 turnovers
Dwight Howard: 17 points (5 of 10 field goals, 7 of 9 free throws), 16 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 blocks, 7 turnovers
Los Angeles leading scorers
Kobe Bryant: 29 points (10 of 22 field goals, 8 of 10 free throws), 8 assists, 2 steals, 7 turnovers
Pau Gasol: 24 points (7 of 14 field goals, 10 of 11 free throws), 10 rebounds, 2 steals
Lamar Odom: 19 points (8 of 9 field goals), 8 rebounds
Derek Fisher: 12 points (4 of 9 field goals), 3 steals
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: LA 46.2% (36 of 78) ORL 41.8% (33 of 79)
3 PT FG%: ORL 33.3% (10 of 30) LA 33.3% (5 of 15)
FT%: LA 85.7% (24 of 28) ORL 74.1% (20 of 27)
REB: ORL 44 (10 offensive) LA 35 (4 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 22/20 LA 20/12
BENCH: LA 23 ORL 17
Other game notes and stats:
-Lewis, Turkoglu, and Howard combined to shoot 25 of 48 for 73 points; the rest of the Magic 8 of 31 for 23 points
-The Magic shot just 4 of 14 in the first quarter, and 12 of 37 for the first half
-Lewis scored 18 of the Magic's 20 second quarter points on 7 of 10 shooting, including 4 of 6 three pointers; the rest of the Magic combined to shoot 1 of 13 in the quarter
-Lewis shot 8 of 12 in the first half; the rest of the Magic combined to shoot 4 of 25
-The Magic shot 21 of 41 from the field in the second half and overtime
-Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee combined to shoot 2 of 11 for 6 points, and were outscored by the Lakers' starting guards 41-6
-Alston did have a 5/1 assist/turnover ratio
-Jameer Nelson played nearly 17 minutes off the bench, scoring 4 points on 1 of 3 shooting with an assist
-J.J. Redick led the Magic bench with 5 points, but shot just 2 of 9, including 1 of 6 three pointers
-The Magic bench combined to shoot 6 of 20 from the field, including 1 of 8 three pointers
-The Magic starting frontline outscored the Lakers starting frontline 73-37, and outrebounded them 33-18
-The Lakers made 20 of 21 free throws in the second half and overtime
Here is the complete box score from nba.com
Here is the complete recap from Yahoo! Sports
Game 3 will be Tuesday night in Orlando.
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 1:21 AM
16 Comments:
At 3:30 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
The Magic did play better in Game 2 as we all thought they would, but still did not play as well as they are capable of. 42% FG shooting (32% in the first half), 33% on three pointers, 20 turnovers, lack of scoring from anyone other than Lewis, Turk, and Howard...
Still, the Magic nearly pulled it out; what a wonderfully designed play at the end of regulation from Turk to Lee... Lee just couldn't get it to go.
Bryant got plenty of help from Gasol, Odom, and Fisher, plus the Lakers outstanding free throw shooting (20 of 21 after the half) and fewer turnovers was just too much for the Magic.
If anyone else from the Magic would have shown up in the first half to help Lewis, the Magic would have been in great position to win the game. Other than Rashard, the Magic shot 4 of 25 from the field in the first half... that's 16%... you've gotta be kidding me!
Pietrus, who had been playing so well off the bench, was no factor at all; just 2 points and he fouled out; his worst game of the playoffs.
Bryant was not much of a factor in the first half scoring-wise for the Lakers, just 6 first half points.
I was encouraged that the Magic were much more active on the boards than they were in Game 1, and that Turk came on so strong in the second half.
D12 was better defensively, but he is still capable of performing much better on offense; his 7 turnovers really hurt.
In the Cleveland series, Howard did a lot better job of passing out from the double team; he's struggling against the Lakers in a similar situation as the 7 turnovers can attest to.
This series is far from over; the Magic are coming to Orlando where the home crowd should give them a huge emotional lift. It should be encouraging for the Magic that they played less than their best yet came a running layup away from a stunning victory.
At 9:02 AM,
WeRDevos said…
Heartbreaker. Courtney Lee was "that close" to becoming permanently beloved in Orlando.
At 12:15 PM,
WeRDevos said…
Strange, but effective, lineups last night. That is the first time I've seen Howard and Gortat on the floor together -- at least that I recall.
They did a great job keeping it close until overtime. I have a lot of hope we will finally see a Finals win in game 3.
At 2:42 PM,
WeRDevos said…
I'm disappointed that we have only attracted bottom feeders. None of the visitors today had anything worth reading other than lame personal attacks on the blog or name calling. I killed them all.
At 4:59 PM,
Big Figure said…
Better intensity but same final result,a loss. Forget freethrows,forget turnovers,even forget how horrible the fouls were called,the bottom line is this:The magic's starting and back-up PG's and SG's are having a horrible series. RA is killing us and jameer is a shadow of himself. RA has routinely stunk the last two series on the road,last nights airball from three while wide ass open was just an indication of how bad he is struggling to make an outside shot. Jameer isnt getting by anyone and honestly looks a little on the thick side,is he in game shape? SG spot isnt helping a whole lot either. CL misses not one but two game winning lay-ups,JJ misses a wide open three from top of the key that would have put us up by four with under a minute to go and MP 2 big points. We have to get better play from our back-court bottom line,kobe is out-scoring them by himself.
At 5:11 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Good job WeR!
I'm sure that Boston and Cleveland and Los Angeles have a lot of intelligent and respectful sports fans; that's more that can be said for most of the fans of those teams who have shown up on this blog.
At 5:36 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
You hit on one of the keys, Big Figure... the Magic bench certainly did not play well in Game 2, and Pietrus had his worst game of the playoffs.
Alston did have five assists, but as you mentioned, his shooting was atrocious and has been atrocious the first two games. He's been pretty good bouncing back after poor shooting games; let's hope he can do so in Orlando.
At 12:22 AM,
Ken said…
I had to work last night and had to resort to listening to the game on the radio.
I have to go along with Big. Our back court is killing us. Even the guys on the radio didn't expect such a lousy game from RA. I was dumfounded to hear Reddick missing all those shots. He couldn't hit water if he fell out of a frickin boat. He may be a great shooter some day in the NBA, but he's never shown me anything.. At this point i'm just hoping for one win.
Thanks WRD, I wondered were all the trolls were. I almost expected to see the blog flooded with them. If we want garbage like that, we can read the Sentinel..
At 9:28 AM,
Anonymous said…
Go Lakers. My guy Kobe bryant will get his 4th ring in another two games. Have a good summer orlando- you guys are not good.
At 5:41 PM,
Anonymous said…
magic fans........ Dont lose your faith, they said the red sox couldnt do it, 1 game from elimination, and beat the yankees, they did it,so never lose your faith, and you magic players need to reach down inside and find yourself, thats why you play the game. You are the best TEAM, the others you have played have just a player or two. Teams win, There is never a winner until the game is over. Furthermore, the magic will win, but will take all 7 games, all in all, it is the way it is. Good luck, Metalcup
At 5:52 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hey mike from Illinois, pronounced Illi noooooooooooooooise, is the any teams from your state here, not in a while, although they have some good southern players there now, hey ones from outside orlando, your figures and stats dont matter, cause you cant coach from the internet. sit down shut up, go orlando, We know that you watch sports center,
At 9:43 PM,
Anonymous said…
they need to run run run.
At 9:45 PM,
Anonymous said…
shoot 3's
At 10:36 PM,
Anonymous said…
NEWS FLASH: SUPERMAN DEAD, PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS RULE THE WORLD SUPREME!!!
At 10:38 PM,
Anonymous said…
Orlando has one steady player and his name is Trevor Ariza.
At 10:40 PM,
Anonymous said…
Beat L.A. Beat L.A. slowly morphs int o D.O.A. D.O.A.
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