Lakers hang on for 101-96 win in Game 2

Orlando Magic guard Courtney Lee (11) reacts after missing a shot to win at the buzzer and sending the game into overtime during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA basketball finals agains the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday, June 7, 2009, in Los Angeles. The Lakers went on to win 101-96 in overtime.(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (12) blocks a shot by Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) as Magic guard Mickael Pietrus (20) of France defends during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA basketball finals Sunday, June 7, 2009, in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

LOS ANGELES 鈥?Lucky to have a second chance, the Los Angeles Lakers grabbed it.

Kobe Bryant and Co. held on and are in control of the NBA finals 鈥?just barely.

Orlando rookie Courtney Lee missed a potential winning layup as regulation ended, giving Los Angeles another shot it didn't waste. Pau Gasol scored seven points in overtime as the Lakers, so dominant in the series opener, survived with a 101-96 win over the Magic in Game 2 on Sunday night.

"There is a sense of relief because they played very well," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "There's no doubt they had every opportunity or chance to win."

If Orlando doesn't come back and win this series, Lee's miss may go down as one of the biggest gaffes in finals history. He had a chance to give the Magic its first finals win.

"We missed it. I don't know what else to say," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We executed well, Hedo (Turkoglu) made a great pass. I'm not trying to be a pain ... Hedo made a great pass and he just missed it."

Orlando may not get a better shot to beat the Lakers.

"We blew a lot of assignments tonight 鈥?a lot of assignments 鈥?and we still managed to get a win," Bryant said.

When it was finally over, Derek Fisher and the Lakers jogged to the locker room, smiling and high-fiving fans along the way.

Turkoglu trudged through the tunnel dejected, a towel hanging from his head.

Bryant scored 29 points, Gasol added 24 and 10 rebounds and Lamar Odom 19 points for the Lakers, who won Game 1 by 25 but needed 53 minutes to put away the Magic.

Rashard Lewis scored 34 鈥?18 in the second quarter alone 鈥?and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 16 rebounds for Orlando.

Game 3 is Tuesday night at Orlando's Amway Arena, which will be hosting a finals game for the first time since June 9, 1995.

With the score tied at 88-88 in regulation, Lee missed the first of two late-game shots when he drove the lane and missed a contested layup with 10.5 seconds remaining.

The Lakers called time with 9.1 seconds to play, and after Odom caught the inbounds pass, he quickly gave it to Bryant, who drove into a crowd. Bryant attempted an off-balance 12-footer, but his shot was blocked from behind by Turkoglu with 1.8 seconds left.

The horn sounded, the clock expired to zeros and Jack Nicholson and the star-studded Staples Center crowd braced for overtime.

But the officials huddled at the scorer's table and decided to put 0.6 seconds back on the clock because Turkoglu grabbed the ball and called timeout.

Turkoglu couldn't find anyone open on the inbounds and was forced to call another timeout. On the Magic's second attempt, Lee got free on a perfectly executed play and caught Turkoglu's long lob pass as he neared the left side of the basket. But with 7-foot Gasol closing in on him, Lee's shot caromed off the backboard and front of the rim.

Howard dunked in the miss as Lee put his hands behind his head in disbelief and began a long walk back to the bench as his teammates tried to console him.

So close. So far.

Fourteen years to the day after the Magic let Game 1 of the 1995 finals against Houston get away when Orlando's Nick Anderson missed four late free throws, Lee provided another excruciating moment for the franchise.

The Magic, who looked more relaxed than in the opener, will head home thinking about what might have been. They could be tied 1-1, and with the next three games scheduled in front of their frenzied fans, they could have denied Bryant and the Lakers a 15th title.

Now, in a season of comebacks, they'll need their biggest one.

Bryant, who scored 40 in the opener, finished with eight assists and seven turnovers.

Lewis transformed into Orlando's version of Bryant in the second quarter, scoring 18 of the Magic's 20 points to keep them close. The 6-foot-10 forward's size and exceptional range make him an impossible cover, and the Lakers had no answer to stop him.

With Howard unable to get open and Orlando's other shooters still searching for their touch, Lewis carried the scoring load. He made four consecutive 3-pointers to end the half and the Magic, despite shooting just 32 percent, were within 38-35 at the break.

If not for Lewis, Orlando would have been in big trouble because Howard was hopeless.

For a long stretch, Superman was more like The Invisible Man.

At times, it seemed as if there were six or seven Lakers on the floor as they swarmed Howard, who made just 1 of 4 shots and had four turnovers.

Before the game, Jackson predicted that Game 2 would follow a different script than the series' Hollywood premiere.

"This game is not going to be like the last game," said the nine-time NBA champion. "It probably won't resemble the last game at all except the players that are on the floor."

He was so right.

(Agencies)

Lakers take 2-0 lead over Magic in NBA finals

Hedo Turkoglu (R) of the Orlando Magic guards Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers during Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Los Angeles, June 7, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters photo)

Lakers heads to Orlando, hoping for NBA championship

LOS ANGELES, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The Los Angeles Lakers flew to Orlando on Monday, hoping to get NBA championship if it can win two more matches against the Orlando Magic.

The Lakers took a two games to none lead in the NBA finals Sunday, with a 101-96 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic. Game 3 of the best- of-seven series will be played Tuesday in Orlando.

"They're going to be fighting for their lives," Laker center Andrew Bynum said of the Magic. "We have to be ready because I think everybody is going to be hitting the floor."

The 2-0 lead "feels great", but the Lakers "have to be extra focused and defensive-minded going into the next game," Bynum said.

Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said he expects "a wide open game".

"It's going to be a much more free-flowing game," said Jackson, who is two victories away from his 10th NBA championship as a coach, which would break the record he currently shares with the late Red Auerbach.

This is the 31st time a team has taken a 2-0 lead in the NBA finals. Only three teams have overcome a 2-0 deficit to win a title -- the 1969 Boston Celtics, 1977 Portland Trail Blazers and 2006 Miami Heat.

Magic defeats Lakers 108-104 in NBA Finals Game 3

ORLANDO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Orlando Magic was still in the war after beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals Game Three 108-104 on Tuesday, cutting the deficit in their best-of-seven series to 2-1.

Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis each scored 21 points to lead the Magic while Lakers guard Kobe Bryant came out on fire with 17 points in the opening quarter and ended with 31 points.

Game Four of the series is on Thursday in Orlando.

Magic shoot 63 percent in 108-104 win over Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, center, drives between Orlando Magic's Hedo Turkoglu, from Turkey, and Rashard Lewis (9) in the third quarter of Game 3 of the NBA basketball finals Tuesday, June 9, 2009, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (24) shots against the Orlando Magic's Rafer Alston (1), Rashard Lewis (9) and Mickael Pietrus (20), from France, in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA basketball finals Tuesday, June 9, 2009, in Orlando, Fla. The Lakers lost to the Magic 108-104 but lead the series 2-1. (AP Photo/Ronald Martinez, Pool)

ORLANDO, Fla. 鈥?Missing for two games, Orlando found its Magic touch.

Making easy shots and tough ones from everywhere, the Magic won their first game in two visits to the NBA finals as Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis scored 21 points apiece in a 108-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 on Tuesday night to pull within 2-1.

Orlando shot a finals record 63 percent 鈥?including another record 75 percent in the first half 鈥?to snap a six-game finals losing streak and avoid falling into an 0-3 hole that 88 previous teams in postseason history have been unable to escape.

"Well, it was going in the basket. That always works," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "That formula's always tried and true."

Kobe Bryant, seeking a fourth title and his first since 2002, scored 31 points for the Lakers but the superstar had just 10 points in the second half and went only 4 of 15 from the field after the first quarter. He also missed five free throws, points that could have given the Lakers that 3-0 lead.

Game 4 is Thursday night, and Game 5 鈥?now necessary 鈥?will be at Amway Arena on Sunday.

The Lakers, going for their 15th title and looking to redeem themselves for losing to Boston last season, have lost their stranglehold.

"This is a tough team, not a cupcake team," Bryant said. "Extremely well coached, execute well and we've got our work cut out."

With their season 48 minutes from all but disappearing, the Magic, hosting their first finals game since 1995, had five players score at least 18 points. Rafer Alston, who was just 3 of 17 from the field in the first two games, had 20 and Hedo Turkoglu and Mickael Pietrus 18 each.

"We've got to play like this," Howard said. "When guys are attacking we're tough to guard."

Pau Gasol scored 23 points but had just three rebounds and the Lakers were only 16 of 26 from the line.

For a while, it appeared the Magic, who shot just 36 percent while dropping Games 1 and 2 at Staples Center, couldn't or wouldn't miss.

From 20 feet, swish. From 10 feet, nothing but net. Layups, runners, banks, pull-ups, didn't matter. You name it, if it went up, more times than not it went in.

Orlando made 24 of 32 shots in the first half and only cooled off a little in the third quarter as they entered the fourth at a 65 percent clip and clinging to an 81-75 lead.

Bryant sat out the first 4:47 of the fourth, and when he finally subbed in, the Lakers were still down by five and unable to do anything to stop the Magic's marksmanship.

But then, Orlando began to misfire at the worst time possible.

After Pietrus was long with a wide-open 3, Gasol was fouled at the other end and made two free throws to make it 99 all with 2:41 remaining. Orlando's rowdy crowd, which waited 14 years for a chance to welcome the Larry O'Brien Trophy to town, grew nervous.

"Oh, boy," muttered one fan near the media section.

But Pietrus calmed fears by dunking in a rare miss to put the Magic up two, and when Lewis hit a jumper 鈥?it was originally called a 3 but replays showed his right foot was on the line 鈥?Orlando was up 104-101.

Howard was called for a questionable foul on a drive by Bryant, who then split his two free throws. When he went to the Lakers bench during a timeout that followed, Bryant hit himself in the head for letting two more valuable points slip away.

Orlando couldn't capitalize, though, and the Lakers got the ball back when Lewis missed a baseline jumper and the rebound went off him and out of bounds.

Bryant, who scored 17 in the first quarter and 21 by halftime, then maybe tried to do too much. He crossed over to get past Pietrus, but Howard, the league's defensive player of the year known mostly for his blocks underneath, made like a point guard and tipped the ball away. Pietrus was fouled and made both to make it 106-102.

The Lakers suddenly became desperate. Instead of working the ball into Gasol or Lamar Odom, they fired away from outside.

They couldn't shoot with the Magic.

Bryant missed a 3, Trevor Ariza misfired on one, Bryant clanged another and Derek Fisher was long as the Lakers went 0 for 4 on a possession where they had to have points. Bryant did score on a putback with .05 seconds left, but it was too late and although there was still time left, confetti began to fall to the court.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson felt Bryant looked tired down the stretch.

"We're all frail as humans," he said. "Sometimes not as much as others."

Orlando, which was swept by the Houston Rockets 14 years ago, could finally celebrate winning one on pro basketball's biggest stage.

Bryant fouled Lewis with .02 seconds to go, and as Magic fans hugged and danced at an outcome they longed for, he dropped two more to seal it.

The last time Orlando hosted a finals game, Howard was a 9-year-old kid in Atlanta and Shaquille O'Neal was the Magic's Superman.

Outside the cramped arena, which had a red Superman cape hanging off one wall, Orlando fans, one of them dressed as Jack Nicholson and carrying a sign that read: "Jack, You Can't Handle The Truth," gathered on the sidewalks hoping this would be a night their team could get back into the series.

They believed.

This was their magic night.

(Agencies)

Kings hire Westphal as coach

BEIJING, June 11 -- The Sacramento Kings sealed an agreement in principle with Paul Westphal on Tuesday to be their fourth coach in just over three years.

Westphal, a longtime National Basketball Association player and coach, went 267-159 during parts of seven seasons leading the Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics. He replaces interim coach Kenny Natt after the Kings finished 17-65, the worst record in the NBA and in franchise history.

"We set some parameters at the start of this coaching search to look for a successful, experienced leader, and Paul certainly meets those qualifications," said Geoff Petrie, the Kings' top basketball executive. "He has a wealth of experience in the NBA as both a coach and player."

Westphal is Sacramento's latest attempt to replace Rick Adelman, who was fired by owners Joe and Gavin Maloof in 2006 after eight straight playoff appearances and winning seasons.

The Kings fired Eric Musselman in 2007 after one tumultuous season, and NBA coaching newcomer Reggie Theus barely made it into his second campaign before being fired last December. Natt wasn't retained after finishing up a miserable season with Sacramento, which even slipped to the No. 4 draft slot in last month's lottery.

Westphal's impressive NBA coaching record includes one trip to the finals with Phoenix, but he has spent just one season on an NBA bench since late 2000, as an assistant in Dallas in 2007-08.

(Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)

Lakers concerned with Magic's shooting 'monster'

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant listens during his off-day news conference at the NBA basketball finals Wednesday, June 10, 2009 in Orlando, Fla. The Lakers play the Orlando Magic in Game 4 Thursday. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

ORLANDO, Fla. 鈥?Kobe Bryant now understands how dangerous the Orlando Magic can be at home when they're dialed in and raining down jumpers and 3-pointers from every angle. He knows what can happen when Dwight Howard recognizes the double team and kicks the ball out to the Magic's dead-eyed sharpshooters.

Bryant has seen the Magic, who shot an NBA finals-record 62 percent from the field 鈥?75 percent in the first half 鈥?in their Game 3 win, turn into a diabolical creature.

"This team can stay hot for weeks. They can get hot and stay hot," Bryant said Wednesday. "When that happens, you're dealing with a monster."

Behold the Beast of the East.

The Magic, who looked overwhelmed in Game 1 in Los Angeles before dropping Game 2 in overtime, were clicking again during their 108-104 win in Game 3. It was Orlando's first finals win in franchise history and one the Magic absolutely had to have.

As they prepared for Thursday's Game 4, the Magic, trying to become the fourth team in history to overcome an 0-2 deficit in the finals, were feeling better about their chances.

"We've shown we can bounce back," guard Rafer Alston said. "It's crucial that we put Game 3 behind us and prepare for what's to come."

Orlando is ready for Bryant to bring everything he's got.

The NBA's pre-eminent closer, Bryant didn't get the job done in Game 3.

Normally, he owns the fourth quarter.

But with the Lakers eyeing a chance to open a 3-0 series lead and with a fourth title that he has obsessed about almost within his reach, Bryant slipped up.

With Tigers Woods, the sporting world's greatest finisher, sitting courtside, Bryant faltered.

The Magic saw it, too. They don't expect to see it again.

"We have to understand," Alston said. "He's not one to let it happen on back-to-back occasions."

Bryant and the Lakers have been bounced back before in the postseason. Pursuing a 15th NBA crown one year after losing to the Boston Celtics, they are 6-0 after a playoff loss. Bryant is usually the one who leads the charge.

After the Lakers lost Game 3 in the first round against Utah, Bryant followed with a 38-point outing. The Lakers lost Game 1 of the Western Conference finals to Houston and Bryant came back with 40 points in Game 2. When L.A. lost Game 2 of the Western Conference finals to Denver, Bryant responded with 41 in Game 3.

"I'm aware of me bouncing back after a tough loss," he said. "Hopefully we can do it again."

Bryant also dismissed talk that he is tired. He looked tired in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, but insists it wasn't because he was fatigued.

Has he hit the wall?

"I didn't, but so what if I did?" he asked. "It means nothing. Because I'll run straight through it."

The Lakers aren't used to Kobe not being Kobe with the game on the line.

"Am I surprised?" center Pau Gasol said. "I guess you could say that because most of the time he is effective and does finish well. "That's why everybody talks about him being a clutch player, which he deserves and earned. The last game really didn't go that well, but we expect the next game to be a different story."

Following Games 1 and 2, it appeared this series matching one of the league's most famed franchises and a relative upstart would be a brief one. The Magic had made their way to their first finals since 1995 on the strength of Dwight Howard's inside game and superior outside shooting. But in L.A., Orlando was just O.K.

However, back on their home floor and in front of their frenzied fans, the Magic shot like no team in 360 previous finals games.

During one stretch in the opening half, Orlando made a remarkable 21 of 24 shots.

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy had no explanation for his team's record-setting shooting spree. The Magic shot just 29.9 percent in Game 1 and 41.8 percent in Game 2.

"Our ball movement was good, but I don't care how good your ball movement is and the quality of shot you get," he said. "You're not going to put the ball in the basket at that rate very often. But it's one of those nights, thankfully, that a lot of shots went down."

As Van Gundy concluded his mandatory media interview session, a moderator announced that the Magic's practice would be open for 30 minutes.

"No practice," Van Gundy hollered as he left the dais. "But you can watch them shoot around."

As if they need the work.

(Agencies)