At least I was right in choosing them? Well, as I was pretty confident that the Magic would win game 2 of the NBA Finals, I put some money on them and they were able to cover the +6.5 as they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 101-96.
I really thought that the Magic would actually win this game and not just in the odds. Well, they could have won it if Courtney Lee made his layup with less than a second remaining. But of course, we can’t put all the blame on him, could we? It was a total team effort and the best team would win that game. And so the Lakers did.
Even if my predictions in Orlando getting the win went wrong, I’m still quite happy with the predictions that I’ve made the other day. Some became reality like how Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu would bounce back.
The two of them combined for 56 points on 20 of 38 shooting from the field and they combined to make 9 three pointers, which is four more than the whole Lakers team. Lewis scored 18 points in the 2nd quarter too keep the Magic close to the Lakers.
We also saw that the defense of the Magic improved as evidenced by them forcing Kobe Bryant to 7 turnovers and blocking his last second shot in regulation. While there defense improved, the Lakers also had a steady defense to force the Magic to commit an alarming 20 turnovers.
Dwight Howard was there and he had a monster game in trying to lead his team past the Lakers. He finished with 17 points, 16 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 blocks. He had a great shooting night too going 7-9 from the free throw line. However, he was also forced to 7 turnovers, which just cancels Kobe’s.
The thing that I might be wrong was Rafer Alston’s maturity. Well, it’s clear that he is being affected by the return of their real starting point guard, Jameer Nelson. He hasn’t voiced out anything yet, but it’s quite obvious in the way he has been playing. In game one, he said that there won’t be any problems, but it’s clear that he was affected. Yes, he sat the whole second quarter and you could lose your rhythm but you’re a proffesional. You have a job to do and he has to remember that this is the NBA Finals. You’ve got to play like you deserve to be here. If only Alston and Nelson could have just played better then the Magic could have won this game.
If you ask me who’s going to win game three I still don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, if they lose game three it’s over. That’s quite obvious especially against the Lakers. I’ll let you know by tomorrow who I think will win game three. I’m quite excited how about you?