June 10, 2009 (Part 1); The Magic are back in the NBA Finals!

Yes, they are back.

The Orlando Magic prevented a 0-3 hole by beating the Los Angeles Lakers at home, 108-104, to trail the series at 2 games to 1.

This marks the first ever win by the Magic in their NBA Finals history. They were swept by the Houston Rockets back in the 1995 Finals.

The main difference of the game were free throws. Kobe Bryant missed five free throw shots in the entire game. And given that he made all of those, they would have won the game by 1 and have the 3-0 lead in the series.

While for Orlando, it's been a good night from the charity stripe as Dwight Howard, a 56% free throw shooter, was 11 out of 16 from the line. Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus were perfect all night, combining from 6 out of 6 from the line.

Bryant caught fire in the first half, scoring 21 points, not enough to beat the record set by the greatest ever Michael Jordan back in the 1992 finals against Portland when he scored an amazing 35 points by the end of the half.

But Bryant, as good as he is, just scored 10 points in the second half, credit to the defense shown by Pietrus.

Howard and Lewis led the Magic with 21 points each. Howard had 14 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal, while Lewis had 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Rafer Alston finished the game with 20 points on 8 out of 12 from the field, along with 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Pietrus and Hedo Turkoglu both had 18 points, with Pietrus having 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, while Turkoglu had 6 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal.

Meanwhile for the Lakers, Kobe Bryant led the charge for the Lakers with 31 points on 11 out of 25 from the field, with 3 rebounds and 8 assists. Pau Gasol finished the game with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Trevor Ariza contributed with 13 points, 7 rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Lamar Odom came off the bench with 11 points, 2 boards, an assist and a steal.

Game 4 will be on Friday morning at 9:00 AM, still from Orlando.

Game 3
NBA Finals
LA Lakers 104
Orlando 108
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
LAL: Kobe Bryant- 31 pts, 3 rebs, 8 assts.
ORL: Dwight Howard- 21 pts, 14 rebs, 2 assts, 1 stl.
Lakers lead series 2-1
Game 4 on Thursday, June 12 at 9:00 AM from the Amway Arena in Orlando.

There you have it! You guys have just been fed!

God bless you guys! Stay safe! Peace out! The Wizard was here... :)

Comments, questions and suggestions are highly appreciated! :)