OC Register: A whisper motivated Ariza

Mamba · Jun 11, 2009

Trevor Ariza did not score in the first half. He missed all six of his attempts from the floor and never approached the line. It was unusual for a guy averaging more than 10 points during the postseason.

Phil Jackson must have sensed something was amiss and pulled his reserve forward over before the start of the third quarter and whispered in his ear. Whatever Jackson said motivated Ariza, or at least got him moving.

He scored eight points in the opening five minutes of the third quarter and finished with 16 on 6-of-14 shooting and 1 of 2 free throws to help the Lakers defeat Orlando in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

“(He told me to) just be ready to play. That’s all he pretty much said,” Ariza said. “At halftime, I already told myself that I was going to be aggressive, just go out and play and try to make some things happen.”

Ariza’s quick turnaround enabled the Lakers to do the same, erasing a 12-point halftime deficit to one-point lead, 55-54, with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter.

“(Jackson) pretty much said to stay focused,” Ariza said of Jackson’s halftime speech. “As a group, we know that their team is not going to let you back in the game because they shoot a lot of 3’s and we wanted to come out aggressive early and that’s what we did.”

LUCKY CHARM NO MORE
Every time Gina Marie Incandella, a 7-year-old autistic child, has sung her heart-tugging rendition of the national anthem, the Magic has won. Orlando had posted a 7-0 record when Gina Marie belted out the Star Spangled Banner.

Gina Marie sang again Thursday, drawing a rousing ovation from the packed Amway Arena crowd, but her role as the team’s lucky charm came to an abrupt end as the Magic lost in overtime.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Lakers were 29-12 on the road during the regular season, but have faltered a bit more at opposing arenas during the playoffs. Game 3 was their only fifth playoff loss on the road this season.

Jackson said the Lakers’ quick starts and Bryant’s dominating play at the start tends to throw off opponents and they can’t always come back.

“I think that’s where having a player like Kobe Bryant really helps a team,” Jackson said. “He’s obviously has got a reputation as a closer, but he comes out a lot of times and establishing the team early. So the team struggles a little bit, he can get going a little bit and get them off to a (good) start.”

This time it was Bryant’s play in the third quarter that motivated the Lakers. He scored eight points as the Lakers managed to dig themselves out of a 12-point halftime deficit to lead, 67-63, at the end of the third.

NOTES
The last time there were two games in the NBA Finals decided in overtime was in 1984 during the Lakers and Celtics series. The extra periods were in Games 2 and 4…. Dwight Howard has now recorded seven 20-or-more rebound games during the NBA playoffs over the past two postseasons. That is more than all other players in the NBA combined.
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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/lakers-jackson-strong-2461359-ariza-third

Mamba · Jun 11, 2009

Bring it for game 5 and seal your contract extension with the Lakers!

Lost One · Jun 11, 2009

Phil woke this mofo up. Finally. He's been MIA all Finals.

Fuck Orlando, giving up a talent like him for chump change. Trevor should feel disrespected!

huevonkiller · Jun 11, 2009

BS, Phil read my posts at halftime, then got that relayed to Trevor. :[

Mamba · Jun 12, 2009

Huevon, and here I was thinking you had some kind of special powers.

Failure.

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OC Register: A whisper motivated Ariza

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