Bryant’s 40 Lead Lakers In Game 1 Rout

[duncan228]

The national views.

Updated.

Bryant’s 40 lead Lakers in Game 1 rout (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2009060413&prov=ap)
By Tom Withers

Kobe Bryant has waited a year, a long year, for another chance at NBA title. He’s not about to let this one slip away.

The Olympic gold medal was nice. Not nearly enough.

He covets another golden trophy.

“I just want it so bad, that’s all,” Bryant said. “I just want it really bad.”

Bryant, playing like a man possessed, scored 40 points and the Los Angeles Lakers, who have waited nearly one year for a chance to erase bitter memories of a Boston beatdown and a championship they felt belonged to them, pounded the Orlando Magic 100-75 in Game 1 on Thursday night.

This year, nothing short of a 15th title will do for the Lakers.

And with the sensational Bryant out front, they may be on their way.

Game 2 is Sunday night at star-studded Staples Center, where actors Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and rapper Kanye West had front-row seats to see another virtuoso performance by Bryant, who scored 18 points in the third quarter as the Lakers opened a 26-point lead and embarrassed the Magic.

The last time the Lakers were seen in the finals, they were heading toward their locker room in Boston last June and summer break after being drubbed by 39 points in a series-ending Game 6 by the Celtics. The renewed rivalry between the league’s superpowers never panned out.

Bryant and his teammates have used that humiliation to motivate them all season and throughout these playoffs.

They are on a mission.

The Magic, who went 2-0 against the Lakers in the regular season, appeared a touch overwhelmed in their first finals appearance since 1995. Not even the return of All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson from a four-month layoff following shoulder surgery could help the Eastern Conference champions.

Orlando center Dwight Howard was engulfed by two and three Lakers every time he touched the ball and scored 12 points—10 on free throws—on just 1-of-6 shooting.

And the Magic’s outside shooters, so deadly while eliminating MVP LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals, were off the mark.

The Magic went just 8-of-23 on 3s and shot only 30 percent overall.

“We’ve never had a shooting night this bad,” Howard said. “We’ve just got to come out and play a lot harder than we did tonight.”

Orlando is facing some daunting odds, too.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson, seeking a record 10th title, is 43-0 in series in which his team wins Game 1.

Bryant, who added eight rebounds and eight assists, knows the Magic are still dangerous.

“This is a resilient team,” he said. “They’ve been through a lot of adverse situations before. This is nothing new to them. We’ve got to forget about this and move on.”

On the dry-erase board in Orlando’s locker room, coach Stan Van Gundy, in handwriting as neat as a schoolteacher’s, devoted two sections on how he wanted his team to defend Bryant.

Nothing worked.

The self-proclaimed “Black Mamba” slithered around Magic defenders with ease. Bryant scored an effortless 18 points in the first half and then took over in the third quarter, scoring 18 of L.A.’s 29 points with an assortment of jumpers, fadeaways and layups.

“He was great. He was tremendous,” said Van Gundy, who felt his team did a poor job defending the Lakers’ pick and roll. “We were giving him too much space on his pull-up jumpers and he did a good job of attacking us. I know this: We are a lot better than we showed.”

With the 24-second shot clock running down on one possession, he froze Mickael Pietrus with a head fake and then sliced between Howard and Rashard Lewis, who looked as if they might applaud him, too. Moments later, Bryant whipped a pass to teammate Trevor Ariza, who buried a 3-pointer to make it 80-58.

Bryant pumped both fists and yelled toward Ariza. But this time, Bryant, who can be demanding of those around him, was offering support. Accused of being aloof and selfish, he has become a better teammate and a better leader.

On the eve of Game 1, Bryant said winning his first title since teammate Shaquille O’Neal was traded in 2004 was not that important to him. Bryant bristled at the notion that he wouldn’t have any of his three titles—from 2000-02—without Shaq as nonsense.

He says he wants No. 4 because it’s the one in front of him.

And he’s three wins from getting it.

“We’ve just got to keep our foot on the gas and keep our head down and just keep on working,” Bryant said.

Nelson sat the first quarter as he has throughout the playoffs, but Van Gundy started him in the second quarter and the healed guard made an immediate impact.

Nervously chomping on his black mouthpiece and darting as always, he made a sweet bounce pass to Marcin Gortat for a dunk on Orlando’s first possession in the period. Nelson then set up Lewis for a 3 before making his first basket in four months on a short baseline jumper.

Nelson was back and the Magic, who dethroned the champion Celtics and toppled King James, looked as if they’d give the Lakers a run.

Bryant, though, is running his own race.

Notes

Bryant’s 40 were a career high in the finals, and it was the 10th time he has scored 40 or more in the playoffs. … Van Gundy said the toughest part of his decision to play Nelson was telling guard Tyronn Lue he would be inactive. … Bryant is ranked as the world’s 10th biggest celebrity by Forbes. Bryant was the second highest ranked athlete, trailing only Tiger Woods, who was No. 5. According to the magazine, Bryant made $45 million in salary and endorsements this year. … With 206 playoff wins, Jackson trails only Hall of Fame hockey coach Scotty Bowman (223) for the most wins in postseason history. … Van Gundy drew a huge laugh before the game when he was asked if he was frightened by facing Jackson and his fingers full of nine NBA rings. “I guess if one of the NBA players threatened to kick my butt, I’d be intimidated,” Van Gundy said. “Phil sitting down there on his chair doesn’t intimidate me.”

[duncan228]

Updated.

Howard contained, rest of Magic awful in Game 1 (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinals-magic&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Brian Mahoney

Rashard Lewis clanged jumpers, Dwight Howard was anything but Super.

And once their two top threats couldn’t get going, the Orlando Magic had nowhere to look for offense.

The Magic shot just 29.9 percent from the field in their return to the NBA finals and were overmatched by the Los Angeles Lakers in a 100-75 loss in Game 1 on Thursday night.

“Our effort tonight, it just wasn’t there,” Howard said. “Nobody’s effort was there. We didn’t go for any loose ball, we just weren’t fighting. That’s not Magic basketball.”

Orlando led early, sparked by the return of Jameer Nelson, but the momentum was quickly lost under a flurry of missed shots. The Magic weren’t far from the worst shooting effort in finals history, Syracuse’s 27.5 percent performance against Fort Wayne in 1955.

Nelson was a rusty 3-of-9, but that counts as a good night for the guys in blue uniforms.

Howard had 12 points and 15 rebounds, but was only 1-of-6 from the floor. Lewis managed only eight points, going 2-of-10.

Howard averaged 25.8 points in the conference finals against Cleveland, capped by a 40-point performance in Orlando’s Game 6 clincher. The Lakers never let him get going in Game 1, sending two or three defenders anytime Superman caught the ball too close to the basket.

He took only two shots, missing both, and scored two points in the pivotal third quarter, when the Lakers extended a 10-point halftime lead to as much as 26.

Orlando’s offense flows best when Howard forces teams to double him, so he can kick it out to the Magic’s plethora of perimeter threats. But he didn’t have many options when he threw it back out Thursday.

Hedo Turkoglu was 3-of-11, Courtney Lee 3-of-10, Rafer Alston 2-of-9, and Mickael Pietrus 5-of-13.

And people thought LeBron James’ help was bad.

“I thought Dwight made some good passes out. Second half we weren’t able to make any shots out of that,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But I thought we had a lot of trouble getting the ball inside. I thought they did a good job making that difficult, and we’ve got to find a way to get better ball movement.”

Lewis was averaging 19.4 points in the postseason, causing matchup nightmares for opponents as a 6-foot-10 3-point threat. The Lakers are better suited to deal with the problems he creates because they have Lamar Odom, just as tall and quick enough to get out to the arc.

The Lakers forced Lewis to put the ball on the floor, and he’s not as comfortable shooting off the dribble. He made two 3-pointers but was 0-for-6 inside the arc, missing whether he drove all the way to the basket or pulling up for midrange jumpers.

Add it all up, and the Magic simply had no shot.

“It’s only one game. Game 2 we’re going to go back, watch film, figure out a way to move the ball a lot better.”

[duncan228]

Updated.

Tougher Lakers rout Magic 100-75 (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinals-lakers&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Beth Harris

Nobody is pushing these Lakers around.

Playing tougher than they did a year ago, Kobe Bryant and his teammates took control in the second quarter and ran away to a 100-75 victory over the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the NBA finals on Thursday night.

In last year’s finals, Boston’s big men led by Kevin Garnett were more than the Lakers could handle. The Celtics dealt them a humiliating 131-92 defeat in Game 6 that stayed with the Lakers all through this season.

This time, Los Angeles stood up to Orlando’s self-proclaimed Superman, Dwight Howard, thanks to 7-foot Pau Gasol and 7-0, 285-pound Andrew Bynum in the post. Gasol had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Howard scored 12 points and 15 rebounds.

“Our bigs were very active, and that’s what you have to do against a team like Orlando,” Bryant said. “You’ve got to work your tail off 24 seconds.”

Los Angeles double-teamed Howard at times, but mostly they relied on individual defense against him.

“We wanted to get the ball into Andrew and to Pau, let them work,” Lamar Odom said. “Andrew and Pau did an awesome job, getting in front of him, protecting the basket, making them take hard shots.”

The Lakers dominated the paint, 56-22.

“We were trying to stop penetration,” coach Phil Jackson said. “Their inside game, which was a big part of their game, we were exceptional on that. A lot of fouls for Dwight, but nothing really in the lane.”

The Lakers succeeded in their goal of making Howard uncomfortable. He took just six shots.

“You’ve got to make sure you mix it up with him, keep a body on him at all times and try to make a catch a little farther off the low post and then move your feet,” Gasol said. “You have to be able to move around because if you let him hit you with his body, he’s going to gain ground and he’s going to get that position.”

The Magic were 23 of 77 from the floor, and just 8 of 23 from 3-point range, a long-range weapon that typically works for them.

“Tonight was just an off night,” Howard said. “We’ve never had a shooting night this bad. Even when we’re not making shots, we got to give a better effort. It just wasn’t there. We just weren’t fighting.”

Bryant was superb, with 40 points (a career finals high), eight rebounds and eight assists, and gritty play that matched his I-came-to-win facial expression. He was clipped in his comments Wednesday and maintained his serious demeanor throughout Game 1.

“My kids call me Grumpy from the Seven Dwarfs,” he said. “That’s how I’ve been at home, just a grouch.”

Bryant scored 12 points in a 25-10 run that closed the first half. The Lakers opened the spurt with 10 consecutive points, including six in a row by Bryant. He assisted on a 3-pointer by Derek Fisher before hitting two more baskets.

He scored 18 points in the first half and 18 in the third quarter alone.

His supporting cast clearly got the message Bryant conveyed anytime he rested on the bench.

“I wanted to be sure we stayed on the aggressive and it was my responsibility over the course of the game to keep it going,” he said. “We worked very hard on the perimeter, keeping these guys out of rhythm, then we did a good job on him (Howard) inside—giving him different looks.”

Bynum got into early foul trouble, but had eight points and four rebounds in the opening quarter, when the Magic led by two points.

Odom, whose up-and-down performances have plagued him in the playoffs, was solid off the bench with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Luke Walton added nine points.

“Man 1 through 5, everybody was dedicated to working hard, came back in transition, did a pretty good job,” Bryant said. “We’ve just got to keep our foot on the gas and keep our head down and just keep on working.”

[JustBlaze]

34 shots, 'nuff said.

[Allanon]

That was quite a game by Kobe...just doin' work.

40 points on ~50% shooting
8 rebounds
8 assists
2 steals
2 blocks

Almost a triple double. 3 games to go!!!

[duncan228]

Some post game quotes mixed in.

Bryant, Lakers humble Magic to open NBA Finals (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=afp-basketnbafinals&prov=afp&type=lgns)
by Greg Heakes

Kobe Bryant had 40 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to power the Los Angeles Lakers to a 100-75 dominating win over Orlando in the opening game of the National Basketball Association Finals.

Bryant usually waits until the final quarter to close out his opponents but he buried the Magic with an 18-point third quarter in front of a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center on Thursday.

"I was taking what they gave me. They want to back off and give me a shot, I am happy to take it," Bryant said. "We wanted to keep our energy up and make sure we stayed the aggressor."

Pau Gasol had 16 points and Lamar Odom 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who trying to make amends for losing in last year's final to the Boston Celtics.

Bryant, who wants to prove he can win an NBA ring without former Lakers teammate Shaquille O'Neal, showed once again that he can raise his level of play and intensity with each new playoff series.

"He had a great run didn't he," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of 2008 NBA MVP Bryant.

Dwight Howard had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the underdog Magic, who are making their first trip to the finals since 1995.

Game two is Sunday night in Los Angeles. The series shifts to Orlando for games three, four and five if necessary.

"There was nothing I liked," said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. "What was there to like?

"I told them in locker room I not blaming them. I got to do a better job with my game plan and play calling. But there was nothing I liked."

The Lakers shot 46 percent from the field and 15-of-18 from the free-throw line as they smothered Orlando's three-point shooters.

The Lakers took the lead for good 34-33 on a Bryant jump shot with 7:05 left in the first half.

"He carried the game his way," Jackson said of Bryant. "I went there a little too often but he said 'keep coming back to me.'"

The Magic swept both regular-season meetings between the clubs. Their 106-103 win in Orlando on December 20 came after a potential game-winning three-pointer by Sasha Vujacic rimmed out seconds before the final buzzer.

One month later, the Lakers again fell victim to the Magic 109-103 as Jameer Nelson nailed two three pointers in the final 86 seconds to clinch the win.

Until Thursday's game, Nelson had not played a minute of the post-season for the Magic after undergoing mid-season shoulder surgery.

Nelson got his first taste of playoff action, entering the game at the start of the second quarter.

The Magic didn't announce Nelson would play until an hour before the start of game one.

Nelson gave Orlando an initial spark early in the third but it was short-lived as the Lakers went on a 10-0 run halfway through the quarter to seize control.

"He played well in the second quarter," Van Gundy said. "In the second half I didn't think he was good at all.

"He was forcing shots and plays after that. I don't think you lay a 25-point loss on Jameer."

Bryant capped the scoring in first half with a coast-to-coast driving layup to give the Lakers a 10-point lead with four seconds left.

Bryant got help from teammates such as Andrew Bynum, who came out with plenty of spark, scoring nine points in a limited amount of playing time.

Bynum finished the first half with the same number of points (eight) as Orlando's Howard.

Howard came into the series averaging 21.7 points per game, but Orlando's all-star forward did not play his normal dominating style and the Magic struggled to contain the Lakers' balanced attack.

"We need to find a starting point, something we can hang our hat on," Van Gundy said. "We got to do a better job of protecting the paint and rebounding the ball.

"We got a long way to go to get back into this thing. But we been a team that bounced back all year."

There is plenty on the line for Bryant, appearing in his sixth NBA finals, and Laker coach Jackson in this series.

Another NBA title for Jackson would give him a record 10 NBA championships, one more than legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach.

[duncan228]

That was quite a game by Kobe...just doin' work.

40 points on ~50% shooting
8 rebounds
8 assists
2 steals
2 blocks

Almost a triple double. 3 games to go!!!

Kobe was great. It's his to lose and it doesn't look like he's going to let it slip this time.

[duncan228]

Bynum’s play sets tone (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinalsnotebook&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Solange Reyner

Andrew Bynum watched the NBA finals last year. On Thursday night, he wasn’t going to watch Dwight Howard dominate.

Bynum’s physical play set the tone to shutting down Howard, Orlando’s Superman center. Howard had only one field goal, far below the 40 points he scored in the Magic’s last game, the Lakers ran away for a 100-75 victory.

“I thought Andrew came out with a lot of energy to start the ballgame, which really helped us get off to a good start, and he did as good a job as you can on Dwight,” Kobe Bryant said.

Bynum had nine points and nine rebounds, providing a physical presence that was sorely lacking last year in the Lakers’ loss to Boston, when he was still sidelined following season-ending knee surgery.

He picked up four fouls in 22 minutes, but that was part of the Lakers’ strategy in defending Howard. They sent the notoriously poor free throw shooter to the line 16 times, where he made 10.

“Andrew was active, he was aggressive and those are the types of things that he is capable of doing,” said Derek Fisher, who finished with nine points. “We’ve seen him do it time and time again and that’s the type of play we’ll continue to need from him in order to be successful. He controlled the paint at times and that was big for us.”

NO MORE HORRY

Robert Horry, known for his tendency to hit big shots in key situations, says he’s not looking to play anymore. He’d rather coach or continue working as a broadcaster.

“I’m more interested in those gigs. I just started putting my name out there,” said Horry, who was at Staples Center for Game 1 of the Lakers-Magic series.

So where would he like to end up?

“I think I have a respect around the league where guys will respect the knowledge I have. I’m a crossroads guy and I have knowledge from both big time eras.”

Teams can certainly grab hints about what it takes to make clutch shots from Horry, who won NBA titles while playing for both the Lakers and Spurs.

So which shots rank on the top of his list?

How about the shot in 2003 when he hit a game-winning 23-foot jumper with no time left to give the Lakers a 97-95 win over the Pacers?

“The shot I made here is always going to be tops. It gives me goose bumps. That’s the only shot I made with no time left on the clock and that’s how you want to make a shot. It’s such a special treat when you can walk off with no time left,” said Horry.

“The shot here, the shot in Detroit and the dunk in Detroit are tops.”

VAN GUNDYISMS: Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy wasn’t worried about President Obama’s NBA finals prediction that has the Lakers winning the series in six games. “I can honestly say I had absolutely no thoughts on that whatsoever. I hope he’s got a lot more important things to be concerned about,” said Van Gundy before the game. “I hope he’s not spending too much time worrying about the NBA finals.”

What about his thoughts on the star power often found on the sidelines?

“There’s one person in the entire world that I’ve ever been awe-struck by and been sort of like a little kid celebrity-wise, and that’s Oscar Robertson. I’ve met him three times in my life. I’m still like a little kid around him. Everybody else is no big deal,” said Van Gundy, who is making his first finals appearance.

MAGIC’S MOMENT: The Orlando Magic have finally found someone picking them to win.

An EA Sports NBA Live 10 simulation of the NBA finals resulted with the Magic beating the Lakers for their first championship. The Magic dropped the first two games of the series, but rallied to win the final two in Los Angeles, winning the title with a 96-88 victory in Game 7.

Dwight Howard was MVP of the series in the simulation.

The Lakers are favored to win the championship, and the Magic say they are used to the underdog role.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has never lost a series when winning Game 1, going 43-0.

SPREADING SOME LOVE: Timberwolves forward and former UCLA star Kevin Love was making the rounds Thursday, as an interviewer. Love, working as a correspondent for NBA TV, was quizzing Magic Johnson on what it takes to get to the finals. “I’m working a little bit,” said Love, who claimed he was a bit nervous. “You’re on the complete other side of the spectrum, so you have to be quick with your questions.”

Any perks? “Sure, I get to come to the games for free,” said Love.

BANK SHOTS: Mickael Pietrus, who is from France, will have AF447 written on his shoes that`s a tribute to the passengers of the Air France Flight that crashed. … Orlando COO Alex Martins flew out the entire Magic front office staff (200-plus) for Game 1 in LA.

[duncan228]

Fast Breaks: Magic-Lakers (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/06/04/fast.breaks.finals1/index.html)
By Chris Mannix
SI.com

Stud Of The Night

Think Kobe Bryant wants this championship? After a ho-hum first quarter (six points on 3-9 shooting) Bryant was positively electrifying, scoring 12 points in the second quarter and 18 in the third to finish with 40 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. He diced up the Magic defense with a variety of sharp offensive moves and kept his teammates involved despite launching 34 shots, more than he had attempted in the previous two games combined.

"He had the smell," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "I thought we [went to him] a little bit too often but he said, 'Keep coming back, I'm OK.' So we did."

Dud Of The Night

The list of candidates is long and distinguished. Dwight Howard finished with 12 points on 1-6 from the floor and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year allowed the Lakers to score 56 points in the paint. Rashard Lewis was held to single digits (eight) for the first time since early April. And Rafer Alston (six points, one assist on 2-9 shooting) looked nothing like the player whose streaky shooting sparked Orlando's run to the Finals.

But the vote here goes to Stan Van Gundy. Playing Jameer Nelson is one thing -- but playing Nelson for 23 minutes in an NBA Finals game, his first game in nearly four months? It's understandable that Van Gundy has a certain comfort level with Nelson, who was playing spectacular basketball before suffering a shoulder injury in February. But love him or hate him, Alston has been the Magic's starting point guard during this improbable run to the Finals. Platooning him now with Nelson will only shake his confidence (Alston's head looked like it was on a swivel every time he missed a shot in the second half) and hurt the Magic's on-court chemistry. Nelson's play (six points and four assists) proved that he is healthy enough to be on the floor. But Van Gundy may want to re-think how he distributes the minutes at point guard before Game 2.

"I'm not laying it all on them and running from responsibility," said Van Gundy. "I've got to do a better job with my game plan and play calling and things like that and making sure we're clear on our principles that we do a better job at both ends."

Play Of The Night

Bryant had a half dozen YouTube quality moments but his three-point play over Michael Pietrus in the third quarter was arguably his finest. With the shot clock winding down, Pietrus appeared to have Bryant contained above the elbow. Suddenly, Bryant bumped Pietrus, shaking him off momentarily before elevating, hanging in the air, absorbing the contact and banking home the 14-footer. The shot swelled the Lakers' lead to 14, which eventually ballooned to 24 by the end of the quarter, sealing the L.A. victory.

Courtside Confidential

Nelson said after the game that he was not bothered by the shoulder injury. "I felt good," said Nelson. "My rhythm was a little off but it was good to be back out there." He also dismissed the possibility that he could wind up back in the starting lineup. "I'm not coming back to start," said Nelson. "I'm coming back to relieve Rafer when he needs a break and do what the team needs." ... The Lamar Odom candy story continues to grow. Revelations that Odom has a candy-filled diet made headlines in Los Angeles last week and after Game 1 L.A. radio personality Vic the Brick offered Odom a bag of Japanese candy. ... Several reporters had commented that Bryant had been particularly cranky in recent days. Apparently, Bryant's kids have, too. Bryant said his two girls have been calling him Grumpy from the Seven Dwarves because of his surly demeanor in the days leading up to Game 1. "That's how I have been at home," said Bryant. "A grouch."

Look Ahead

The Magic must to go back to the drawing board. Finding more touches for Howard in the post is a priority, as is devising ways to create the kind of space on the perimeter that made them so successful against Cleveland. They also need to re-examine their defensive schemes. The Lakers were far less triangle offense-oriented in Game 1, frequently running pick and rolls with Bryant that led to several wide-open jump shots.

"We saw something," said Bryant. "I took it upon myself to come off, put a couple of points on the board [and] try to gear some momentum."

For L.A., it's all about maintaining the status quo. In the locker room after the game Jackson tried to impart on his players that it didn't matter if they won by "60 or six. It's just one win." If the Lakers can maintain the same kind of intensity they had from the second quarter on, they will be extremely difficult to beat.

"The best thing we can do is forget about it," said Bryant. "This is a resilient Magic team. This is nothing to them."

[IronMexican]

Kobe played great. I was more impressed by his post game interview, though. I love when he's prepared and doesn't over-blow one win.

[bostonguy]

IF LA can continue to force Orlando to rely on the 3 and deny penetration to the basket, this series will be over rather quickly.

[jonnybravo]

34 shots, 'nuff said.

He would have scored 60 if he was given the Lebron treatment.

Oh...it'll be so fun to watch the league when it rests on the shoulders of these frauds.

You dumbfucks won't know the better.

[JustBlaze]

He would have scored 60 if he was given the Lebron treatment.

Oh...it'll be so fun to watch the league when it rests on the shoulders of these frauds.

You dumbfucks won't know the better.
Is the pot calling the kettle black here?:lol

[DrHouse]

IF LA can continue to force Orlando to rely on the 3 and deny penetration to the basket, this series will be over rather quickly.

They learned from the Celtics :toast

[duncan228]

Magic say blowout no different from heartbreaker (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-nbafinalsnotebook&prov=ap&type=lgns)
By Brian Mahoney

Forget the lopsided score. The Orlando Magic insist Game 1 of the NBA finals was no different from those two-point losses they had earlier in the postseason.

The Magic proved they could overcome those defeats, and they feel they’ll rebound from their 100-75 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

“You know, the margin, it’s disappointing, but it’s still one win for them. They don’t get two for it,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said.

The Magic opened the postseason by losing two of the first three games against Philadelphia, both on last-second shots. Throw in a buzzer beater by Boston’s Glen Davis in the second round, and of course LeBron James’ 3-pointer to win Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, and Orlando has had its heart broken plenty in this postseason.

Now the Magic are shrugging off a blowout, figuring everyone absorbs one along the way, with Van Gundy even recalling a memorable one the Lakers had in Boston.

“I know playoff history and stuff, it’s pretty hard to find a champion who hasn’t at some point in their playoff run gotten their butts beat by 20-plus,” Van Gundy said.

“I mean, San Antonio did it I think every year in their playoff runs. You go back far enough, and obviously I worked for Pat Riley, and those of you who are old enough or even older than I am remember the Memorial Day Massacre. Those kind of things happen.”

And now it’s happened to the Magic on the NBA’s biggest stage.

“The feeling in the locker room, we’ve been beaten bad before,” Dwight Howard said. “We had to bounce back. Nobody is upset or angry that we lost. We just understand that we have to do it as a team.”

ORLANDO’S ‘O’

The Orlando Magic’s return to the NBA finals was one of the worst performances in championship history.

Orlando shot 29.9 percent from the field in its 100-75 loss to the Lakers, not much above Syracuse’s finals-worst 27.5 percent mark against Fort Wayne in the 1955 finals. It was the lowest mark in the finals since San Antonio shot 28.9 percent against the New Jersey Nets in Game 4 of the 2003 finals.

The Magic were held to their lowest point total of the postseason.