Amway Arena
who will go home
Game summaries
All times are in Eastern Daylight Time
Game 1
June 4
9:00 p.m. Recap Orlando Magic 75,
Los Angeles Lakers
100
Staples Center, Los Angeles California
Attendance:
18,997
Referees:
ABC
Scoring by quarter:
24–22, 19–31, 15–29, 17–18
Pts:
Mickaël Piétrus 14
Rebs:
Dwight Howard 15
Asts:
Jameer Nelson 4
Pts:
Kobe Bryant 40
Rebs:
Lamar Odom 14
Asts:
Kobe Bryant 8
L.A. Lakers lead series, 1–0
After an evenly battled first quarter, the Magic took the lead thanks to field goals and assists from point guard Jameer Nelson, who was playing his first game since injuring his shoulder during the regular season in February. Down 33–28 with 8:38 left in the 2nd quarter, the Lakers went on a 10–0 run and never looked back. The Lakers ended the 3rd quarter on a 22–8 run, led by fierce play by Kobe Bryant, who finished with 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, joining the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan, and Jerry West to put up those numbers in a single NBA Finals game. The 25-point margin of victory was the 6th-largest in NBA Finals Game 1 history.
Dwight Howard was a dismal 1–6 from the field, his fewest made field goals in his playoff career, and finished with 12 points, 10 of which came from free throws. The Magic shot only 29.9% (23–77) from the field, a record-low percentage in the NBA Finals.
Game 2
June 7
8:00 p.m. Recap Orlando Magic 96,
Los Angeles Lakers
101
OT
Staples Cente, Los Angeles, Californi
Attendance:
18,997
Referees:
ABC
Scoring by quarter:
15–15, 20–25, 30–23, 23–25
OT:
8–13
Pts:
Rashard Lewis 34
Rebs:
Dwight Howard 16
Asts:
Rashard Lewis 7
Pts:
Kobe Bryant 29
Rebs:
Pau Gasol 10
Asts:
Kobe Bryant 8
L.A. Lakers lead series, 2–0
Both teams got off to a slow start and were tied at 15 after the first quarter, setting a record-low for combined score (30) in the first quarter of an NBA Finals game. The Lakers picked up the pace in the 2nd quarter, but Rashard Lewis kept the Magic in the game, scoring 18 of the team's 20 points in the quarter, including the final 16, on his way to a playoff career-high and Finals franchise-high 34 points for the game. The Magic outscored the Lakers in the 3rd quarter to take a 2-point lead in the 4th.
With the game tied at 84, Rashard Lewis hit a jumper with 1:32 remaining to give the Magic a 2-point lead. Kobe Bryant responded with a jumper of his own to tie the game. With 47 seconds left, Hedo Türko?lu hit a jumper that was originally called a 3-pointer. However, replay showed that his foot was on the line, giving the Magic a 2-point lead. With 33 seconds remaining, Dwight Howard was able to deflect, but not steal, a Derek Fisher pass, and Pau Gasol was able to again tie the game at 88 with a layup.
On the ensuing Magic possession, the Lakers played great defense and forced Courtney Lee to miss an awkward layup shot with 10.5 seconds left. With a chance to take a 2–0 series lead, Kobe Bryant was blocked on a jumper by Türko?lu, who gained control of the ball and called time-out with 0.6 seconds left. After another timeout, Türko?lu threw a half-court lob to Courtney Lee, who had come free after a screen on his defender. However, Lee was traveling too fast and launched his layup from almost behind the backboard, causing it to miss.
With the Lakers up 1 in overtime with 1:55 left, Derek Fisher stole a J. J. Redick pass and was fouled on the ensuing fastbreak, making both free throws. After the Magic were unable to convert, Kobe Bryant made a pivotal assist to Pau Gasol for a layup-and-one, giving the Lakers a 6-point lead and the eventual victory.
Game 3
June 9
9:00 p.m. Recap Los Angeles Lakers 104,
Orlando Magic
108
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Attendance:
17,461
Referees:
ABC
Scoring by quarter:
31–27, 23–32, 21–22, 29–27
Pts:
Kobe Bryant 31
Rebs:
Trevor Ariza 7
Asts:
Kobe Bryant 8
Pts:
Howard, Lewis 21 each
Rebs:
Dwight Howard 14
Asts:
Hedo Türko?lu 7
L.A. Lakers lead series, 2–1
Game 4
June 11
9:00 p.m. Recap
Los Angeles Lakers
99
, Orlando Magic 91
OT
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Attendance:
17,461
Referees:
ABC
Scoring by quarter:
20–24, 17–25, 30–14, 20–24
OT:
12–4
Pts: Kobe Bryan
32
Rebs: Pau Gasol 10
Asts: Kobe Bryant 8
Pts:
Hedo Türko?lu 25
Rebs:
Dwight Howard 21
Asts:
Rashard Lewis 4
L.A. Lakers lead series, 3–1
Coming off their franchise's first NBA Finals game victory, the Magic quickly took the lead in the first quarter. However, Kobe Bryant kept the Lakers in the game, scoring 13 of the team's 20 first-quarter points. Dwight Howard played a great first quarter, with 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in the opening frame. In addition, he drew many fouls, putting Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom in foul trouble and forcing Lakers coach Phil Jackson to use Josh Powell and D. J. Mbenga early in the game. The Magic were able to increase the lead to 12 at halftime.
The Lakers came out of the locker room aggressive and outscored the Magic 30–14 in the 3rd quarter, led by Trevor Ariza, who scored 13 points in the quarter, including two 3-pointers. Down by 6 in the opening minutes of the 4th quarter, the Magic were able to come back to take a 76–75 lead halfway through the quarter, but unable to increase the lead due to poor free-throw shooting, specifically from Hedo Türko?lu and Dwight Howard.
With 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter and the game tied at 79, Howard converted a 3-point play to give the Magic an 82–79 lead. On the next Laker possession, the Magic played good defense, but Trevor Ariza was able to hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 82. After Hedo Türko?lu hit a stepback 3-point shot, Howard blocked Gasol's jumper, giving him a single-game NBA Finals record with 9 blocked shots. Türko?lu made another jumper with 1:34 remaining to give the Magic a 5-point lead.
Down 87–82 with 31 seconds left, Kobe Bryant spun through the lane and passed to Gasol for a dunk to cut the lead to 3. On the next Magic possession, Howard was fouled by Kobe with 11 seconds remaining. Needing just one free-throw to make the game a 2-possession affair, Howard missed both shots.
Out of the timeout, the Lakers elected to take the ball out at three-quarters court instead of half-court in order to space out the floor. The Magic double-teamed Bryant in the backcourt, allowing him to pass the ball up to Ariza, who in turned passed it to Derek Fisher on the right wing. Having missed his first five 3-point shots of the game, Fisher spotted up and hit a pivotal three-pointer to tie the game at 87 with 4.6 seconds left. On the final possession of regulation, Mickaël Piétrus missed a 20-footer.
The overtime session began with a 3-pointer by Rashard Lewis and two contested jumpers by Kobe Bryant to give the Lakers a 91–90 lead. With 1:27 left in OT, Howard split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 91. On the next possession, the Lakers would miss a layup and a jumper, but regained possession on an offensive rebound by Ariza and loose-ball foul on Jameer Nelson. With 31 seconds left, Kobe Bryant passed out of a double-team to a wide-open Derek Fisher, who hit another 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 94–91 lead. However Bryant was not called for an offensive foul after elbowing Jameer Nelson in the face just before passing to Fisher.
Out of a timeout, Türko?lu rushed a 3-point shot and missed. Rashard Lewis backtapped the rebound to center-court, but the ball went to Pau Gasol, who ran in unimpeded for a dunk, giving the Lakers the lead for good. In the next possession, the Magic missed another shot, bouncing the ball to Fisher, who passed it to Ariza, then to Gasol for a dunk, but Pietrus slammed both arms on his back, resulting Gasol getting a technical foul and Pietrus with a flagrant 1 foul.
Game 5
June 14
8:00 p.m. Recap
Los Angeles Lakers
99
, Orlando Magic 86
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Attendance:
17,461
Referees:
ABC
Scoring by quarter:
26–28, 30–18, 20–15, 23–25
Pts:
Kobe Bryant 30
Rebs:
Pau Gasol 15
Asts:
Kobe Bryant 5
Pts:
Rashard Lewis 18
Rebs:
Howard, Lewis 10 each
Asts:
Lewis, Nelson 4 each
L.A. Lakers win series 4–1
The Magic, facing the prospect of the Lakers winning a championship on their home floor, came out with a good start, leading by as much as 9 in the first quarter. In the opening frame, all 5 starters scored and assisted on at least one field goal, but the Lakers pulled to within 2 at the quarter break. Down 40–36 with 7:11 in the 2nd quarter, the Lakers went on a 16–0 run, fueled by two 3-pointers and solid defensive play from Trevor Ariza. The Lakers led by as much as 12 in the 2nd quarter and lead 56–46 at halftime.
Coming out of the half, Orlando cut the lead to 5 with 7:45 remaining in the 3rd on a 3-pointer by Rafer Alston. Lamar Odom answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to restore the Laker lead to double digits. Leading by as much as 18 in the half, Los Angeles led by 15 going into the 4th quarter. In the final quarter, Orlando attempted a run but managed to cut the lead down to only 12; at the buzzer, the Lakers celebrated their 15th title.
Following the game, NBA Commissioner David Stern presented the Lakers with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy and presented Kobe Bryant with the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Trophy during a presentation on center-court at Amway Arena. Bryant averaged 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game during the series.
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