Magic-Lakers, NBA Finals Game Three: What Orlando Did To Win

The Orlando Magic trail 2-1 heading into Game Four of the NBA Finals. Had it not been for a couple of missed opportunities—ahem, Courtney Lee!—the Magic could very easily be holding a 2-1 advantage.

Regardless, the Orlando Magic put together their most complete game of the Finals in Game Three, winning 108-104 to earn their first Finals victory in seven tries.

Here’s a quick look at what Orlando did to get back in the series.

The Big Three Showed Up

Like they did in Game Two, Orlando’s trio of Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard combined for an efficient 60 points on 62 percent shooting.

While their production was down 13 points from Game Two, each came up large down the stretch for the Magic.

Help!

It was apparent Orlando’s Big Three needed some help from their teammates after they accounted for 76 percent of Orlando’s points production in Game Two.

Ahh, the benefits of playing at home—even in Orlando.

The enigma that is Rafer Alston had a stellar game after shooting just 18 percent in the first two. A confident Alston scored 20 points on 8-12 shooting to go along with four assists.

Alston also did an excellent job of pushing the tempo after rebounds. This worked to the Magic’s advantage and caused problems for LA in transition defense.

Mickael Pietrus finally provided some energy off the Magic bench for Stan Van Gundy. The Frenchman chipped in with 18 points on 7-11 shooting, highlighted by three spectacular plays in the fourth quarter: a filthy fall-away over Ariza, a steal and tough finish in transition over Odom, and a dunk off an errant Turkoglu shot.

That’s the Mickael “effing” Pietrus that killed my beloved Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Defense on the Mamba

The duo of Courtney Lee and Pietrus limited Kobe Bryant to just 11 points on 3-10 shooting in the second half.

I immediately take that back.

While the pair did an admirable job guarding the game’s best, I can’t give them credit for Kobe’s night.

The truth of the matter is Kobe Bryant is unguardable.

He either makes his shots or he doesn’t. In Game Three, he didn’t.

Great Ball Movement/62 Percent

The Magic usually move the ball well and find the open shooter.

In Game Three, their ball movement was a thing of beauty (similar to the Spurs of prior, healthier seasons), and they knocked down their shots.

Orlando shot an NBA Finals record 72 percent in the first half, and finished the game at a scorching 62 percent.