MAGIC CHOKE, LAKERS ON VERGE OF TITLE

 

The 2009 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Magic was well underway. The series started in LA and Game 1 saw the Magic taken to the cleaners. The Magic managed to step up a gear for Game 2 and took the Lakers to overtime but ultimately fell short once again. The series then switched to Orlando for Game 3 and finally the Magic were able to take control, subduing the Lakers and coming up with the first ever NBA Finals win. However it was still only a narrow win. So when the series stayed in Orlando for Game 4, the biggest unanswered question was, could the Magic hold their momentum? If they couldn't, then they would come away from this series empty handed.

The opening minutes of the match were low scoring with the Lakers grabbing the first bucket before the Magic came back to tie the game. The Lakers went on to retake the lead at 6-4 with 8:54 left in the first quarter but by the mid-point of the game the Magic had turned things round, helped by the fact that they'd gotten the Lakers into early foul trouble. They went on to hold the Lakers scoreless for over two minutes, allowing themselves to open up the first real lead of the game. The Magic led 24-20 at the end of the quarter with Hedo Turkoglu leading the way with 10 points. Phil Jackson's team did not look in good shape at this point.

In the early stages of the second quarter, the Lakers looked to be just treading water, managing to keep the deficit at 4 with 9:40 left on the clock. They then fell apart again though and with over seven minutes left in the half, the Magic lead hit double figures. The Magic increased their control over the game, somehow finding themselves an extra gear which left the series leaders floundering. The Lakers looked to have stopped the rot only for both sides to be held scoreless for over a minute. In the end, the Magic held on to lead 49-37 with Turkoglu on 15 points by now. Dwight Howard was having a relatively weak night scoring wise but still proving decent backup with 6 points.

From the early stages of the third quarter though, the Lakers looked to turn the game around and the Magic weren't able to retain their halftime lead for long. Indeed the Lakers were able to hold the Magic scoreless for over two minutes. Then came two Laker free throws to turn the game round. Now the Magic responded but again weren't able to return to their dominating position, now they had a real battle on their hands. And as far as the third quarter was concerned, it was a battle they lost with a series of bad choices on defence. The Lakers led 67-63 with Kobe Bryant leading on 24 points. The Magic had seemingly just thrown the series away in one quarter.

The Lakers held on to the early edge in the 4th quarter and initially increased their lead. After a period of over a minute where neither side was able to score the Lakers went on to lead 73-67 with 8:12 left in the game but then the Magic started nibbling into that deficit. The home side then took the lead once again and though that was only a brief spell in front, the Lakers couldn't put them down completely and the Magic led again going into the final few minutes. With 1:34 left, the Magic led 87-82. Again though, they threw away their advantage due to leaky defence(and an iffy ref call in the Lakers favour). When the buzzer sounded, the game was tied at 87, heralding overtime. Turkoglu led the Magic's scoring with 25 points backed up by Michael Petrius on 15 points. Kobe led the Lakers with 28 points backed up by Trevor Ariza on 16.

It was the first time a second game in an NBA Finals series had gone to overtime since 1984. The Magic had the initial edge in the extra five minutes and led 90-87 with 4:34 on the clock. The Lakers responded to take the lead. The Magic tried to counter but just couldn't put the ball in the basket. Finally after a period of well over two minutes the Magic hit a free throw to tie the game. From that point onwards that was as good as it got though. Credit to the Magic they did hold on but in the dying seconds the Lakers broke free and went on to win 99-91. Kobe finished on 32 points with Ariza and Pau Gasol both collecting 16 points each.

The Magic have their backs against the wall.

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