LAKERS ON ROAD TO TITLE

 

(Image taken from NBA.com)

So, this was it. The 2009 NBA Finals. The best team in the East faces the best team in the West in a seven game series to decide who will be the next NBA champion. This time round the best team in the East has turned out to be the Orlando Magic, and that was certainly unexpected. The best team in the West have turned out to be the LA Lakers, and that wasn't such a big surprise. The predictions have been made, now it's time for the grand opening with Game 1 in LA. The pressure was surely all on the Lakers pre-match, Magic coach Stan van Gundy played on that in the dressing room. If the Lakers lost here, their gameplan would go out the window. And it wouldn't be the first time the Magic hadn't read the script.

Well the Lakers opened the scoring but it was the Magic who were the first team to really get an edge in the opening minutes of the game. The Lakers then came back and the two side duelled for the lead as the 1st quarter wore on. Eventually the Lakers won their duel, holding the Magic in a drought of over a minute and a half to build up a 20-16 lead with 3:30 left in the quarter, and looked to have taken over the opening period. The Magic came back to tie the game though and on a seond run, turned it round to lead 24-22 with Hedo Turkoglu leading the scoring for the Magic with 9 points. So far, it was the Magic that were doing the right things.

The Magic continued to come out strong in the second quarter, with he Lakers looking like they were treading water already. With 8:39 left in the first half, the Magic had extended their lead to 33-28. Finally, the Lakers woke up. They responded to the Magic's early form with a 10-0 run and that changed the game completely. From there on in it looked like it was the visiting team that were treading water, never really recovering from being held scoreless for over four minutes. The Lakers then stretched their legs and came into half time with a 53-43 lead. Kobe Bryant led the scoring with 18 points. Did the Magic have an answer to this sort of turnaround?

Well the immediate answer was "no" as the Magic were held scoreless for the opening minute of the third quarter. It was back to treading water for the Eastern Conference champions, their best effort seemed to be to cut the deficit to nine with 8:20 left in the quarter. The Lakers then proceded to shut them down. The Magic were held scoreless for well over three minutes and the Lakers lead went into the 20s. The Magic needed a miracle. The Lakers led 82-56 with a quarter to go. Kobe led the scoring, having picked up 36 points already! Pau Gasol backed him up with 12 points. The game was surely over already, for Van Gundy the 4th quarter was just preparation for Game 2.

Well the Lakers opened the scoring again in the 4th quarter and though the Magic responded, they looked unlikely to pose a threat. As for the rest of the quarter? Well they call it "garbage time" and it certainly had a slow and sludgy feel to it. Low scoring, the Magic had more or less given up while the Lakers didn't need to put in any more effort. It happens in every sport, the result so obviously beyond doubt that you're just waiting for the losers to be put out of their misery. With 1:03 left in the match, the Magic cut the gap to twenty two. It was their last basket of the match. The Lakers finished with a three pointer with a second to go. They won the game 100-75, Kobe finishing on 40 points, Gasol on 16, Lamar Odom backing them both up with 11 from the bench.

How soon can the Magic respond?

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