NBA

It was Game 2 of the NBA Finals last night, and the Magic were looking not only for a win, but to prove that they belong in this series.  They were absolutely destroyed by the Lakers in Game 1, and needed a big comeback if they expected to compete with the Lakers in Game 2.  Well, the game stayed neck and neck for a while, but the Magic still struggled to hit their shots.  Essentially, the big reason Orlando even made it to the Finals was their exceptional shooting percentage. They hit their shots at will up to this point, but they have struggled mightily in this series.

With the exception of Rashard Lewis (34 points in Game 2) the Magic had yet another off-night shooting.  They were 41% from the field, compared to the Lakers 46%, except that the Lakers have more weapons than just shooting (defense, big low-post, Kobe Bryant).  With all that said, the game still came down to the wire.  With the score tied in the remaining seconds of the 4th quarter, Kobe Bryant tried to juke and drive to the lane, but when he went up for a shot, he was blocked by Hedo Turkoglu.  It was a BRILLIANT defenseive play, and that sent a frustrated Kobe Bryant to the bench.  However, the Magic did have one last play with about a half-second remaining.  They threw a beautiful inbound lob to Courtney Lee on a lay-up ally-oop, but…. he just missed it.  And we’re talking in-and-out of the rim.  We were headed to overtime.

In overtime, however, it was all Lakers.  Kobe finished the game with 29 points, but the overtime show belonged to Pau Gasol and key reserve Lamar Odom.  They hit some fantastic shots under pressure, and also sunk some key free throws.  The Lakers hung on to win the game, and now have a commanding 2-0 leading heading back to Orlando.  Remember, however, that the next 3 GAMES are in Orlando.  So it is conceivable that the Magic could win 3 straight, and return to the Staples center with a 3-2 lead.  Then again, that’s probably not likely, and many are picking the Lakers to close this out in 5 games total.  But never say never.  LA Lakers 101, Orlando 96.

MLB

Elsewhere in the sports, a marathon game between the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.  The Arizona D-Backs were leading the whole game, but in the 9th inning, they completely blew a huge lead.  Exciting for fans, but it took not 1, not 2, but an additional 9 innings to finish the game.  That’s like watching two full baseball games in a row.  A total run-time of 5 hours and 45 minutes.  Then, in the 18th inning, Arizona’s Mark Reynolds sent a shot to right field, and HOME RUN.  3 runs scored!!  And, unfortunately (or fortunately… if you’re a tired Padre fan) San Diego couldn’t tie the game in the bottom of the 18th.  Arizona 9, San Diego 6.