NBA Finals Game 4: Lakers 99 Magic 91 OT
Fifteen missed free throws and nineteen turnovers absolutely doomed the Orlando Magic in Game 4, as the Magic could not hold a five point lead in the final minute of regulation as Los Angeles scored five points in the final 32 seconds to send the game into overtime where the Lakers scored 12 of the final 13 points in a devastating loss for the Magic.
The Magic led 24-20 after one quarter, and extended their lead to 51-39 at the half. The Lakers had a monster third quarter, outscoring the Magic 30-14, with Trevor Ariza scoring 13 of those points by himself, to take a 67-63 lead into the fourth quarter.
It was an unbelievably tense and exciting final period, as the Magic found themselves trailing 73-67 with 8:12 remaining, but went on a 20-9 run to take control of the game at 87-82 with 1:34 remaining. Pau Gasol's dunk made it 87-84 with 32 seconds left, and Dwight Howard was fouled with 11 seconds remaining. He missed both free throws, and Derek Fisher's three pointer with 4.6 seconds left stunningly tied the game. Mickael Pietrus's jumper did not come close at the end of regulation.
Rashard Lewis, who had an awful night with just six points, made a three pointer to give the Magic a 90-87 lead to open the overtime. The Magic would miss their remaining six shots while the Lakers would come back and pull away.
Magic leading scorers
Hedo Turkoglu: 25 points (8 of 13 field goals, 8 of 13 free throws), 5 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 16 points (5 of 12 field goals, 6 of 14 free throws), 21 rebounds, 9 blocks, 7 turnovers
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 15 points (4 of 8 field goals)
Rafer Alston: 11 points (5 of 13 field goals)
Los Angeles leading dcorers
Kobe Bryant: 32 points (11 of 31 field goals), 8 assists, 7 rebounds
Trevor Ariza: 16 points (6 of 14 field goals, 9 rebounds, 2 steals
Pau Gasol: 16 points (7 of 14 field goals), 10 rebounds
Derek Fisher: 12 points (5 of 11 field goals), 2 steals
Overall Game Statistics:
FG%: ORL 41.9% (31 of 74) LA 41.8% (38 of 91)
3 PT FG%: LA 34.8% (8 of 23) ORL 33.3% (7 of 21)
FT%: LA 75% (15 of 20) ORL 59.5% (22 of 37)
REB: ORL 41 (7 offensive) LA 39 (10 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 17/19 LA 15/8
BENCH: ORL 29 LA 17
Other game notes and stats:
-The Magic made 18 of 37 field goals in the first half, just 13 of 37 field goals after the half
-The Lakers made just 14 of 42 shots in the first half, 24 of 49 after the half
-The Magic made 10 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter; the Lakers did not attempt a free throw in the fourth
-The Lakers outscored the Magic 84-69 from the field, and attempted 17 more field goals
-Field goal percentage was basically even, but the Lakers had a solid advantage in free throw percentage and fewer turnovers
-The Magic used a ten-man rotation, with J.J. Redick scoring six points with three assists in addition to Pietrus's 15 points
-Marcin Gortat added four points, two rebounds, and a block in four minutes
-Jameer Nelson played the entire fourth quarter and overtime, scoring two points with three rebounds and three assists
-Other than Turkoglu, the Magic starters combined to shoot 13 of 39 from the field
-Howard and Turkoglu combined to make 14 of 27 free throws
-Rashard Lewis led the Magic with four assists, but scored just six points on 2 of 10 shooting
-Howard's nine blocks was a Finals record
-This is the first time since 1984 that two Finals games have gone into overtime
Here is the complete recap from nba.com
Here is the complete box score from nba.com
Game 5 will be Sunday night in Orlando, where the Magic's season will be on the line.
The Magic led 24-20 after one quarter, and extended their lead to 51-39 at the half. The Lakers had a monster third quarter, outscoring the Magic 30-14, with Trevor Ariza scoring 13 of those points by himself, to take a 67-63 lead into the fourth quarter.
It was an unbelievably tense and exciting final period, as the Magic found themselves trailing 73-67 with 8:12 remaining, but went on a 20-9 run to take control of the game at 87-82 with 1:34 remaining. Pau Gasol's dunk made it 87-84 with 32 seconds left, and Dwight Howard was fouled with 11 seconds remaining. He missed both free throws, and Derek Fisher's three pointer with 4.6 seconds left stunningly tied the game. Mickael Pietrus's jumper did not come close at the end of regulation.
Rashard Lewis, who had an awful night with just six points, made a three pointer to give the Magic a 90-87 lead to open the overtime. The Magic would miss their remaining six shots while the Lakers would come back and pull away.
Magic leading scorers
Hedo Turkoglu: 25 points (8 of 13 field goals, 8 of 13 free throws), 5 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 16 points (5 of 12 field goals, 6 of 14 free throws), 21 rebounds, 9 blocks, 7 turnovers
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 15 points (4 of 8 field goals)
Rafer Alston: 11 points (5 of 13 field goals)
Los Angeles leading dcorers
Kobe Bryant: 32 points (11 of 31 field goals), 8 assists, 7 rebounds
Trevor Ariza: 16 points (6 of 14 field goals, 9 rebounds, 2 steals
Pau Gasol: 16 points (7 of 14 field goals), 10 rebounds
Derek Fisher: 12 points (5 of 11 field goals), 2 steals
Overall Game Statistics:
FG%: ORL 41.9% (31 of 74) LA 41.8% (38 of 91)
3 PT FG%: LA 34.8% (8 of 23) ORL 33.3% (7 of 21)
FT%: LA 75% (15 of 20) ORL 59.5% (22 of 37)
REB: ORL 41 (7 offensive) LA 39 (10 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 17/19 LA 15/8
BENCH: ORL 29 LA 17
Other game notes and stats:
-The Magic made 18 of 37 field goals in the first half, just 13 of 37 field goals after the half
-The Lakers made just 14 of 42 shots in the first half, 24 of 49 after the half
-The Magic made 10 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter; the Lakers did not attempt a free throw in the fourth
-The Lakers outscored the Magic 84-69 from the field, and attempted 17 more field goals
-Field goal percentage was basically even, but the Lakers had a solid advantage in free throw percentage and fewer turnovers
-The Magic used a ten-man rotation, with J.J. Redick scoring six points with three assists in addition to Pietrus's 15 points
-Marcin Gortat added four points, two rebounds, and a block in four minutes
-Jameer Nelson played the entire fourth quarter and overtime, scoring two points with three rebounds and three assists
-Other than Turkoglu, the Magic starters combined to shoot 13 of 39 from the field
-Howard and Turkoglu combined to make 14 of 27 free throws
-Rashard Lewis led the Magic with four assists, but scored just six points on 2 of 10 shooting
-Howard's nine blocks was a Finals record
-This is the first time since 1984 that two Finals games have gone into overtime
Here is the complete recap from nba.com
Here is the complete box score from nba.com
Game 5 will be Sunday night in Orlando, where the Magic's season will be on the line.
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 2:49 AM
25 Comments:
At 3:27 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
The Magic had a five point lead AND the ball with under a minute remaining, and they cannot finish the game out... unbelievable.
Here's the sequence in that final minute of the fourth... Lewis misses, Gasol makes a dunk, Howard misses two free throws, Fisher makes the three pointer, Pietrus misses at the buzzer.
Very, very painful.
The ugly stats for the Magic... 42% shooting, 33% three point shooting, 59.5% free throw shooting, 19 turnovers. A team cannot have stats like that and expect to beat a team the caliber of the Lakers. The Magic should have put the Lakers away, they didn't, and the Lakers made them pay big-time.
The Lakers... 75% free throw shooting, just 8 turnovers.
There's going to be a lot of things discussed about this game, such as SVG's decision to play Nelson the entire fourth quarter and overtime, the non-call in the overtime on Bryant's elbow to Nelson, and Lewis's bad night, but if the Magic make their free throws in the fourth quarter, they win the game in regulation.
The Magic had 17 more free throw attempts than the Lakers, and could not take advantage of it.
Bryant had another sub-par shooting night, but he got his 30+ points, and guys like Trevor Ariza, Gasol, and Fisher really came through for the Lakers.
Interesting decision by SVG to play Nelson over Alston after the third quarter. Alston did not play well in the third, but he had a good first half.
Nelson played alright in the fourth, with some nice assists, but why wasn't he guarding Fisher closer at the end? Fisher had so much space to shoot that three, and what a dagger he hit.
Instead of the series being tied, and the Magic with all the momentum, they have a near impossible task now, having to win three games in a row against the Lakers.
At 4:05 AM,
Eric the Anti-Lakers said…
This is the second game Lakers didn't win, but Magic just gave it as a gift to LA. Unbelievable; Howard missing 2 FTs and giving Fisher all the space to score a 3. Nelson should keep his mouth guard in his mouth all the time to focus better. It is more painful to watch these two OT losed than the 1st game blow-out.
It is over Magic. I don't see them beat Laker 3 time in a row.
At 6:26 AM,
Anonymous said…
I completed agree with Eric, is really painfull to see the Magic gifting the Lakers the game in this way, once you have the game in your hands.
stefano
italy
At 8:11 AM,
Anonymous said…
Immaturity, lack of championship experience, incompetent coaching staff, and last but not the least poor free throw shooting skills. Dwight Howard seems to have concentrated on a career developing a very muscular physique to master dunking skills to win a dunking contest than on free throws to win a championship. Don't worry, there will always be a next time for as long as you wanted it badly and you learned your lessons from it. -- Anybody-but-Lakers Fan
At 8:39 AM,
Anonymous said…
Remember, an NBA player is greatly rewarded of his team contribution in a championship than his individual achievements that is why a "Championship Ring" is highly coveted to the point that others even sacrifice their priced annual salary and even their team loyalty. Keep that in mind and you will have your championship. -- Anybody-but-Lakers Fan
At 8:47 AM,
Matt said…
Foul or not foul? Remember that discussion? If Jameer was not going to guard Fisher tight, why not foul him? Playing Jameer in the fourth quarter and overtime is a questionable coaching decision, as well. Jameer was not ready to shoot at all. I am curious how many shots he had taken all night. That would make it easy to guard him.
Bad loss but there is a Sunday night game for the Magic to win. Magic has proven that they can play close games, and with a bit of luck this series could have been 3-1 Magic easily. Let's win Sunday and live for Tuesday. Who knows what the future holds? Magic has been making history all over this season. Why not make another one?
At 10:22 AM,
Anonymous said…
I told myself: oh I hope it doesn't go into overtime. Turnovers in game 2 and free throws in game 4 hurt the Magic. In game 4: the Lakers had 3, count them, 3 players with 5 fouls. Why didn't the Magic go after them??? Foul them out! If Fisher fouled out in the 4th qtr, would we be talking 3-1 Lakers? Less likely.
The Lakers didn't beat the Magic 3 times: they only won 1. The MAGIC lost 2, which hurts even more. 2 buckets away from 3-1 Magic. OUCH OUCH OUCH
At 11:18 AM,
Big Figure said…
Turnovers and freethrows are statistical excuses. The magic with the missed freethrows held a three point lead with 11 to go so the freethrows didnt win or lose the game. Defense lost the game. If RA is in the game with his 6ft2 frame we may not be talking about this. Dwight was himself making about 50% percent what else do we expect thats his average. Bottom line,in retrospect playing jameer doomed the magic. In the two games we've lost in this series the one common theme is jameer playing too many minutes. RA has to finish the game,in every other game this year he comes back in the game around the 5 minute mark and not bringing him back last night is gonna be questioned the whole summer.
At 11:22 AM,
Big Figure said…
Fisher was 0-5 from three against RA in the game,but 2-2 from three with 5ft10 jameer out there. Hmmmmmm? In my pre-game i knew the PG match-up would be huge,RA did his job and won the match-up as long as he was on the floor,but jameer lost the match-up in the end and that proved to be our downfall. A three to tie,and a three to seal the game.
At 11:25 AM,
Anonymous said…
If even you magic fans cannot see the blatant managing of the game for the lakers by the referees, then the nba is almost done for; it is obvious that the outcome of this years playoff was decided way before the games began. How could the magic beat Labron if they cannot play any better than it looks now? Perhaps we should ask Stern.
At 12:14 PM,
Not_Imprressed said…
Summed up----
1) Nelson should not be playing. Not that good, poor shooter, too short, poor defense. did not hustle. could say more!
2) horrible free throw shooting!
3) frustrated player--mostly at coaching staff playing nelson who is obvoiusly not ready and was not the player who go them to the finals. Stick with what works! (Alston & Lee)
solution: Bench Nelson, feed the bigman, look for goo 3 point shots, push the pace, and if i forgot to mention bench Nelson!!!!!!
At 12:29 PM,
Big Figure said…
SVG is killing the team with trying to re-establish jameer at this time in the play-offs. Last night him playing jameer the whole fourth quarter and overtime was starter minutes when he's clearly not in that kinda shape. I dump this all on SVG for messing with something when it wasnt broke and he leaves himself to be questioned,so because RA wasnt having a great third period you bench him for good??? That's bullshit! Jameer is a lousy defender and always has been his all-star status this year was basically because he was the best scoring PG in the east. But he wasnt bringing anything to the table that RA hasnt been doing to get us here and jameer did not deserve to be on the floor to close that game or overtime and i dont care what anybody says. I've never once heard that free-throws wins championships,defense wins championship's and a smart move would have been taking jameer off the floor for the final defensive stand making a defensive substitution and using CL or RA for defensive purposes but there again SVG is failing the team horribly. When your team is its worst enemy and is beating itself then that means maybe you need to step back and go with what got you here,SVG is over thinking this thing and killing guys confidence with these experimental line-ups. So what if it does work last night and we win? You just pissed off your starter and killed his confidence,he didnt even get an opportunity to finish the game which is what we've done the whole year.
At 1:47 PM,
Anonymous said…
So frustrating to watch Game 4, I just don't understand it. Howard missing 2FT at the end to win it. Another thing is the ridiculous amount of turnovers. They need make every possession count, they had something like 19 turnovers. They had that game. Another thing is I don't understand why Stan Van Gundy has hedo turkoglu take the last few shots down the stretch, the best shooter they have is Rashard Lewis. Fine some people say he cant score off the dribble, call a pick n roll with hedo and dwight and when defenders close in on hedo kick it out to Rashard Lewis at the three. The man can shoot, let him take the last shot. It was killin me to watch hedo take the last few shots that weren't even shots. The magic need to come down and relax when the game comes down to the wire. Draw up a good play and let the players run the play because it appears that they don't have plays ready for situations such as the one last night, and when they need to take a big shot find Rashard or Hedo for a spot up shot. You can't have Hedo or Rashard trying to create off the dribble because they are both to slow so even have alston or nelson create and make that pass to them damnnn. Dwight has to start playin like he did in the first like 8 minutes or so of the first quarter, I don't when i've seen him play like that. He has got to realize that he is one of the biggest and the strongest player on the floor. He has to come out of the gate like an animal. Make people afraid to guard you. You gotta come across as an animal, once gametime comes you gotta turn that switch on. Be serious and focus for all 4 quarters whether you on the court or on the bench, because you know #24 has every single one of his players focused. Kobe doesn't give a fuck how he comes across in a game, Dwight has to come across that same way, let everybody on your team know how serious you are man. When you get that ball in the paint, if you grab it and go down low than you gotta bring your body throwin your shoulders and dunk it. Be aggressive, make the lakers not want to foul you cause you got 3 games left of the finals so you guys gotta come out Fired up and focused. When Kobe drives, before he can even get into the paint get in his way, swarm him immediately. I know that the Rockets did a pretty good job guarding him this playoffs, just once he makes that move get two or three guys in front of him, when he stops and goes for the pump fake, try to poke the ball out. Thats all i gotta say really, you know I rootin for the magic and hope that they can come back and win this series just gotta stay focused and be aggressive.
At 1:52 PM,
WeRDevos said…
Other than continuously killing Ken's wannabe boyfriend I've nothing to add. I've seen better camaraderie, politeness and humor on Florida-Georgia boards in the Fall. The trolls here are just rude little boys.
Great first half. Came out flat in 3rd but almost held on in the fourth. I can't figure out if it was good Laker D or Lewis just didn't show up. But what happened to him? He has been so good up to last night.
Matt, I really like your positive attitude, little as I am accustomed to it. :-) But this Laker team fights hard and I'm not sure if the Magic have much fight left in them. I also wonder if Pietrus will be suspended for game 5. I hope not, he seemed to be the only Magic player who was animated and playing hard in the second half.
At 2:16 PM,
Unknown said…
Should the Magic have fouled Derek Fisher? The TNT crew says yes. http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2009/06/12/nba_20090611_postshow_topmonents_2.nba/?cid=playoff1
At 3:10 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Absolutely the Magic should have fouled Fisher. Matt was referring to the discussion we had here on the blog about three years ago on the foul or not to foul debate... when a team is up by three points in the closing seconds, should they foul and put them on the line rather than let them shoot the three.
Statistics show that a team is much better off fouling and putting the opponent on the line, rather than letting the opponent shoot the three.
Big Figure is right; the Magic should have used a taller defender against Fisher in that situation like Lee or Alston.
At 3:37 PM,
Tim Lara said…
Unbelievable, I figured that the Magic would come and face a difficult task in game 4 and if they won, which they should have they would take an easier win in game 5 and give them the chance to really wrap this thing up or at least come out of this not looking like a completely destroyed team. The fact of the matter is that Dwight Howard’s missed freethrows cost the game… they were clutch shots and they should have dropped.
At 3:46 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Don't just focus on D12... sure, his missed free throws were costly, because they came in such an obvious situation where it would have secured the game for the Magic. Turk missed four free throws in the fourth quarter, and those misses wound up being just as costly.
Turk did hit the clutch three and the runner after that to put the Magic up by five with a minute and a half left; everyone for the Magic was MIA after that.
SVG is really being questioned because of his strategy not to foul Fisher before he put up the three, and because of his refusal to put Alston in the game after the third quarter.
At 4:35 PM,
Ken said…
Turnovers have been the achilles heal for the Magic all season long. You just can't turn the ball over 19 times in a finals game. Every possession is crucial. Especially against a team like the lakers. Did anyone really expect Dwight to keep shooting his free throws at such a good percentage? Eventually he was going to drop back down to his usual 50%..
I remember the "to foul, or not to foul" conversation well.
Jameer had no business out there in crunch time. I don't know why SVG was trying to push him back into form now, of all times.. I actually had bad vibes when I first saw Reddick back on the floor in the first half.. SVG will be answering questions about how he handled Nelsons playing time all summer.
It isn't over yet. The Magic proved they can hang with anyone, especially the lakers. The thing that worries me is the psyche of the team. This will either make them mentally stronger, and all the more hungrier for a title. Or backfire and cause players to grumble and start pointing fingers.
At 6:43 PM,
Anonymous said…
Terry from California
The decision by SVG to play Jameer Nelson was a poor one to make at this point in the final. This guy has contributed absolutely nothing other than sideline or lockerroom support in the playoffs. He has hurt their rotation, chemistry and the flow of their offense. And on defense he's a casualty.When he's on the floor, Fishers eyes lights up because he knows he has his way with Nelson defending him. Fisher knows that Nelson is not a threat offensively and he does not penetrate the way Alston does, which works Fisher on defense and tires him out on the offensive end. That is why he was 0-5 shooting prior to Nelson's entry onto the court. Poor decision SVG. You are down 3-1 against Kobe and the experienced Lakers, forget it, pack your bags, because it's all over.
At 7:36 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
No question, there are so many things to look at in such a devastating loss like this one.
I believe that 95% of the teams in NBA playoff history who have had a 3-1 lead in games have gone on to win the series, and it's never been done in the Finals where a team has gone down 3-1 and has come back to win.
Well, the Magic are in a position to make history now!
I'm trying to look at things optimistically, like Matt is doing.
At 8:05 PM,
Big Figure said…
I'm staying optimistic but at the same time have to face reality,we've given up not one but two games and the magic have no more room for error. The only problem is the magic are the most non-predictable team i've ever seen,and them playing three straight error free games just isnt gonna happen. The magic play bad offensively and still have opportunities to win games,they also can shoot outstanding and barely win. Then worst of all they can play really hard and the coach decide's to get in the way and change his rotation. Bottom line,the magic are clearly skilled enough to beat the lakers,but skill isnt enough to win a championship. Not commiting un-forced errors and disciplined offensive execution are staples of the lakers game and the magic just arent sound enough yet to overcome those qualities with their skill.
At 8:16 PM,
Anonymous said…
LAKERS BABY YEAAAAAAHHH!!!
At 9:29 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I really feel bad for Skip. He played brilliantly in Game 3, played well the first half of Game 4 before his bad third quarter. SVG should have sat Skip for 3 or 4 minutes and had a talk with him and tell him to settle down and just play his game.
Even if the Magic had won Game 4, Alston's confidence would still be in question the rest of the series, with Nelson playing the entire final quarter.
At 2:03 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
As NBA Fan pointed out, the Magic have gotten the benefit of the whistles from the referees through the first four games, but have been unable to take advantage of it, especially in Game 4.
I'll say it again... I'll never blame the referees as the reason a team lost a game. Refereeing is such a subjective thing, because during the course of any NBA game, both teams could complain about any number of calls or non-calls; I believe that a team that wins a game does so because of the players making the plays required to win.
As for Nelson, I blame Stan Van Gundy for playing him for extended periods like we saw in Game 4 when he clearly isn't 100%, and isn't looking for his shot, and is a liability defensively.
When next season rolls around, Nelson will be 100% and hopefully be back to his All-Star self.
I agree it messed up the Magic's chemistry to play Nelson in the Finals rather than go with Anthony Johnson as Alston's back-up.
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