The Magic pull a trick of their own

If the Magic feel as though they were a missed layup away from leaving LA even at one game a piece, then the Lakers have to feel like they should be up 3-0 and shipping the champagne to Orlando. After staving off record shooting by the Magic and five missed Kobe Bryant free throws (normally an 85% shooter), LA found itself only down by 2, with the ball with :47 seconds to play, with two of the final 3 possessions. They then persisted to turn the ball over when Kobe tried to split a double-team, gave an intentional foul, and missed 3 three-point shots to end the game. Last year’s MVP blames himself, perhaps fatigue is starting to rear its ugly head, or perhaps its something the Magic are doing defensively, either way they’re 48 minutes from changing the minds of every prognosticator in the country. The Magic saved their best trick (shooting 62% an NBA finals record) for the biggest game in their franchise history. Ironically, mostly from inside the 3-point line is where the damage was done. Now on the eve of game 4, will it take another record setting performance to eek out a 4-point win, or was it the Magic who took the Lakers’ best punch? Hold off on the UPS shipments just yet. Let us know what you think here, and in the NBA Finals chat rooms and team rooms.