Mattie T’s Game 3 Recap of the 2009 NBA Finals
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on June 10, 2009
Last night’s game was one hell of a thriller that could’ve gone either way. But in the end, the Orlando Magic’s incredible shooting display led them to a 108-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers for their first Finals win in franchise history.
After his 40-point thriller in Game 1, Kobe Bryant has now delivered back-to-back performances that definitely has to leave him feeling frustrated.
Bryant was an uncharacteristic 5-for-10 from the free-throw line during Game 3 & also committed a HUGE turnover late with the Lakers down by 2. As Kobe explained during his post-game media session “Orlando threw the whole kitchen sink at me.”
Pau Gasol did give Kobe the 2nd option that Los Angeles needed, but Gasol grabbed a playoff-low 3 rebounds in 39 minutes of action last night.
Lamar Odom had his first subpar game of the Finals, as he was unable to come close to the double-double that he averaged in the first two games while picking up 4 fouls.
Afterwards, Odom blamed a “lack of sleep” for his bad play. So i guess all that candy that Lamar eats before games didn’t help him, huh?
Meanwhile, Orlando might’ve squashed any talk of a point-guard controversy with a brilliant performance from Rafer Alston, who finally provided a strong game with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
For the first time all postseason, Alston attacked the basket repeatedly & did not rely on his outside shot to score, as he took just one three-point attempt for the game (and made it).
Mickael Pietrus also came to life, as he scored 18 off the bench to give the Magic some much-needed spark as their 6th man.
So far, Orlando’s decision to leave Trevor Ariza open for uncontested shots is working, as the former Magic forward is just 9-for-30 (30%) in the Finals.
With Tuesday’s loss, the Lakers have now lost their last SEVEN road games during the NBA Finals. Not good considering that Orlando has won 18 of their last 22 home games at Amway Arena, which includes their Game 3 win.
Now that Orlando has that daunted first Finals win, they can look to tie this series up with another one tomorrow night. Will the Lakers let them do it?
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