Lakers down by two, less than 40 seconds to go in the game, Kobe Bryant has the ball, Orlando's defensive strategy is simple: get that ball out of Kobe's hands. No matter what.
Seconds later, the Magic had achieved its single-possession goal, but likely in a way-more-positive manner it thought it would. Bryant tried to split through Mickael Pietrus and Dwight Howard, but the latter poked the ball away from him. Pau Gasol got it back from the Amway Arena's floor, but in an attempt to give it back immediately to the NBA's clutchest performer of the present, turned it over back to Orlando.
The Bryant-initiated turnover was anything but Bryant-like. Non-Laker fans have seen Kobe rise up in the face of (INSERT NAME HERE, it really doesn't matter) and bury game-tighteners, game-tiers and/or game-winners. The degree of difficulty does not seem to be a problem to this one man. He ALWAYS makes it. Or so it seems.
Not against the Magic on Tuesday night though. Kobe's Lakers were still alive - trailing 106-102 after Pietrus converted the aforementioned turnover into two made free throws - when the MVP went up for what, to him, was an uncontested 3-pointer. The shot was so off it bounced hard off the rim almost all the way out to the three-point line. So un-Kobeish.
The Lakers got the rebound. There were still 16.3 seconds left. Down four still, and with Bryant on their team, the game was far from over. Los Angeles used that time to hoist up three more three-point attempts (one of those from Kobe). None were close. After Derek Fisher missed the last try with four seconds left, Bryant got the rebound and put in a layup which was too late to make any difference. The Lakers lost game 3 of the NBA Finals 108-104. Orlando sliced their series lead in half (L.A. leads 2-1).
Bryant's putback with 0.5 seconds remaining gave him 31 points for the game, but he had scored 17 in the first quarter alone. Howard wasn't Superman in those first 12 minutes. Kobe was. He even had a four-point play.
He disappeared after that. He had 10 points while missing 11 of 15 shots in the second half. He also missed five free throws. Even so, Kobe's known for crushing opponents' hearts when it counts the most. Not on Tuesday night, and that's why the Magic "survived" a game in which it shot a Finals record 63 percent from the field.
Game 4 is Thursday night in Orlando. Game 5, which Kobe's off night helped exist, is Sunday at the same place.
Seconds later, the Magic had achieved its single-possession goal, but likely in a way-more-positive manner it thought it would. Bryant tried to split through Mickael Pietrus and Dwight Howard, but the latter poked the ball away from him. Pau Gasol got it back from the Amway Arena's floor, but in an attempt to give it back immediately to the NBA's clutchest performer of the present, turned it over back to Orlando.
The Bryant-initiated turnover was anything but Bryant-like. Non-Laker fans have seen Kobe rise up in the face of (INSERT NAME HERE, it really doesn't matter) and bury game-tighteners, game-tiers and/or game-winners. The degree of difficulty does not seem to be a problem to this one man. He ALWAYS makes it. Or so it seems.
Not against the Magic on Tuesday night though. Kobe's Lakers were still alive - trailing 106-102 after Pietrus converted the aforementioned turnover into two made free throws - when the MVP went up for what, to him, was an uncontested 3-pointer. The shot was so off it bounced hard off the rim almost all the way out to the three-point line. So un-Kobeish.
The Lakers got the rebound. There were still 16.3 seconds left. Down four still, and with Bryant on their team, the game was far from over. Los Angeles used that time to hoist up three more three-point attempts (one of those from Kobe). None were close. After Derek Fisher missed the last try with four seconds left, Bryant got the rebound and put in a layup which was too late to make any difference. The Lakers lost game 3 of the NBA Finals 108-104. Orlando sliced their series lead in half (L.A. leads 2-1).
Bryant's putback with 0.5 seconds remaining gave him 31 points for the game, but he had scored 17 in the first quarter alone. Howard wasn't Superman in those first 12 minutes. Kobe was. He even had a four-point play.
He disappeared after that. He had 10 points while missing 11 of 15 shots in the second half. He also missed five free throws. Even so, Kobe's known for crushing opponents' hearts when it counts the most. Not on Tuesday night, and that's why the Magic "survived" a game in which it shot a Finals record 63 percent from the field.
Game 4 is Thursday night in Orlando. Game 5, which Kobe's off night helped exist, is Sunday at the same place.