MAGIC CHOKE AGAIN, LAKERS TAKE TITLE

 

(Image taken from NBA.com)

The 2009 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Magic looked to be coming to a head. Game 1 was in LA and saw the Lakers anhiliate their opponents. The Magic made an effort to make up for that in Game 2 and took the match into overtime but still lost. For Game 3, the series switched to Orlando and it was here that the Magic really got their act together and made franchise history to see off the Lakers for their first ever win in the NBA Finals. However the Magic needed more than that and while they took the Lakers to overtime in Game 4, they ultimately succumbed. That left the Magic with their backs against the wall. The series remained in Orlando for Game 5 but the Magic needed to win it to stay alive.

Well the Magic started out by doing all the right things, and the best the Lakers could do early on was tie the game at 4 with 9:57 left in the first quarter. The Magic then surged into a lead that Phil Jackson wasn't sure what to do about. However, even before the end of the first quarter the Magic looked to be running out of fuel and the Lakers gradually nibbled into their deficit, asking the home side if they were able to go up another gear. What the Magic were able to do in the short term was steady the ship. They held on to lead 28-26 at the end of the first quarter with rookie Courtney Lee leading the way on 8 points. They should have done better though.

Early in the second quarter, it looked like the Magic would be able to answer the Lakers challenge, they led 34-28 with 9:37 left in the half. The Lakers took another bite out of the Magic lead but the home side still held their nerve. For a while at least. Then the Magic found themselves caught in a serious drought. Stan van Gundy paniced and called two timeouts in quick succsession and the Lakers took their first lead of the game. Now came the big test of the Magic's will. They failed. The Lakers led 56-46 at half time. Kobe Bryant led the way on 15 points. Did the Magic have anything left or was this series over already? We would soon find out.

The early stages of the third quarter were very low scoring as in, the Magic opened the scoring, the Lakers replied. The Magic then made a bid at a comeback and cut the gap down to five with 7:45 left in the quarter but again the Lakers came back to restore their double digit lead. The next couple of minutes were again low scoring but when the ball did go in the basket it was usually from a guy wearing a Lakers top and so the Western conference champions extended their lead. The Last few minutes of the third were very low scoring but the Lakers led 76-61 at the buzzer. Kobe led the way with 21 points, Lamar Odom backing him up on 14.

The Magic were managing to tread water in the early stages of the fourth quarter and cut the deficit slightly early on. However they weren't able to get a run together and the game looked to be winding down already. However down the stretch there was a brief spell of life but it wasn't Magic-dominated so the final result was starting to look inevitable. The surprise Eastern Conference champions had just been given one serious lesson. The Magic then cut the deficit down to eleven with 37.0 seconds on the clock. Too lirttle, too late and the Lakers had the last word anyway. Lakers won the game 99-86, Kobe led the scoring with 30 points backed up by Odom on 17 with Trevor Ariza providing further backup on 15. Lakers won the series 4-1.

And with that, the LA Lakers became the 2009 NBA champions, taking the trophy for the first time since '02 when Kobe was teamed with Shaq. What can I say other than, this proved to be a series between a team that knew how to win a title, and a team that clearly did not. And after having been percieved as Shaq's junior partner for the last three Laker titles, Kobe Bryant was given the Finals MVP award for the first time. It's been a seriously long road for him, heck, I'd had him written off as a team lead in the immediate Shaq-less seasons and with reasonable cause. It took four years before the Lakers looked anywhere near going for a title. Now though, well with Shaq now of the fade, Kobe's only rival for the title of leader of the NBA's elite right now is LeBron James. However the fact that Eastern Conference in particular will be loaded with hungry teams next time around tells me already that a back-to-back Laker titles will be easier said than done.

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