Lakers-Magic: Fisher's Threes Put LA on the Doorstep

The mystique of Amway Arena and National Anthem singer Gina Marie Incandela was busted by Derek Fisher Thursday night.

A series of key shots by Fisher near the end of the fourth quarter and overtime put the Los Angeles Lakers on the cusp of another National Basketball Association World Championship as they defeated the Orlando Magic, 99-91, in Game Four of the NBA Finals.

With four seconds remaining in the closing stanza, Fisher made a shot from downtown to force overtime.

And the No. 2 for Phil Jackson's club did it again with 31 seconds remaining in overtime to make it 94-91.

Fisher finished with 12 points.

Pau Gasol closed the proceedings with authority. A defensive rebound off a missed three-pointer from Hedo Turkoglu (25 pts, 8-13 FG) resulted in a two-handed jam with 21 seconds to go.

And with 12 seconds remaining, Fisher grabbed a rebound off another Turkoglu miss.  Gasol then put the game out of reach with his jam.

Soon after, Mickael Pietrus—who was frustrated with the latter play—was given a technical for throwing a punch at Gasol, as well as a flagrant one foul.

Pietrus finished with 15 points, but only shot 50 percent from the floor.

Aside from Turkoglu, Dwight Howard grabbed 21 rebounds to go with 16 points. However, Howard was a paltry 6-for-14 from the charity stripe.

Rafer Alston scored 11 points in the loss.

Kobe Bryant got away with another bad outing from the floor. Bryant only shot 32 percent for the game (11-for-31) in spite of converting all of his free throws to finish with 32 points and eight assists.

This is where the supporting cast came in handy.

In the third quarter Trevor Ariza was able to erase a 12-point halftime deficit, shooting 75 percent from three-point land. Ariza ended the night with 16 points.

Gasol added 16 points and 10 rebounds in a contest that saw Howard out muscle him in the post.

Lamar Odom put himself in a hole off the bench in the win. Odom shot 40 percent from the floor, scoring only nine points.

The officiating crew of Bennett Salvatore, Mike Callahan, and Scott Foster apparently had fun dishing out the technicals left and right.

Gasol, Ariza, and Jackson each earned a technical, while Orlando was penalized with a defensive three-second violation.

In spite of the questionable calling and physical play, Fisher will have to go down as the hero for the Lakers.

His clutch shooting echoed that night in San Antonio—Game Five of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals, where his shot at the buzzer put the Lakers ahead of the Spurs, 3-2.

After stints with Golden State and Utah, it was only proper for Fisher, who is currently the President of the NBA Players Association, to prove once more that in the NBA Finals, "one great shot deserves another."

With the backs of Stan van Gundy's Magic to the wall, the Los Angeles Lakers can clinch it on Sunday at Amway Arena. Coverage begins 7:30PM ET (4:30PM PT) on ABC. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00PM ET (5:00PM PT).