Game 4 - Fishing for Threes

The Lakers' three best men- Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum- found foul trouble in the first quarter. That forced little-used players, Josh Powell and D.J. Mbenga, to spend minutes inside the lines, enabling the Magic to jump out to a substantial lead. By halftime, the Magic led by 12.

The lead would have been bigger but for the number of Orlando turnovers. By the end, the Magic committed 10 more than did the Lakers. That sloppy play allowed Los Angeles to come back into the contest. L.A. won the third quarter 30-14, thanks largely to Trevor Ariza, who finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds.

The Magic, who retook the lead as the fourth quarter, saw it whittle down late. Hedo Turkoglu, who ended with 25, scored 5 consecutive points seemingly sealing the result. But the Lakers didn't give up. After one forced shot, Kobe Bryant adjusted, finding his teammates.

Up 3, Dwight Howard stepped to the charity stripe. He missed both. Throwing the ball up the floor, Derek Fisher received it. Jameer Nelson sagged off the veteran champion. Fisher rose up and stroked a left-handed trey to tie the game. On the other end of the floor, Mickael Pietrus tossed up a wild three that failed to go in. Pietrus had 15 points and played good defense on Bryant, but rushed an illadvised shot, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra session, the two teams were tied at 91. The Magic would not score again. Derek Fisher, who ended with 12, hit a huge three. Bryant faced a double team and when he turned, Nelson caught an elbow to the jaw. From there Kobe- who had 32 points 8 assists, and 7 rebounds- found an open Fisher. After a hurried Turkoglu three with plenty of time left, Rashard Lewis, who really struggled, knocked the ball out attempting to get another possession out of the deflection. Instead, Pau Gasol (16 pts 10 rebs) had an easy dunk on the other end.

For the Magic, Turkoglu, Pietrus, and Dwight Howard played especially well. Howard still struggled offensively with 16 points on 12 field goal attempts and 14 from the line, but he had 21 rebounds and 9 blocks. However, 7 of the team's 17 turnovers belonged to him. Alston scored 11 points, but shot poorly and didn't play when it counted. Orlando needs another player or two to step up to win. The Lakers are now one win away from another championship.