LA Times: Lakers finish of Magic for 15th Championship

Mamba · Jun 14, 2009

Reporting from Orlando — It was a night of redemption for the Lakers.

The NBA championship the Lakers won by defeating the Orlando Magic, 99-86, in Game 5 of the NBA Finals tonight at Amway Arena redeemed so many of them. It was the Lakers' first championship since 2002, the 15th in their storied franchise's history.

It was Kobe Bryant's fourth championship, his first without Shaquille O'Neal at center. Bryant, who had 30 points, six rebounds and five assists, has always wanted to lead the Lakers to an NBA championship.

Now he has, picking up the NBA Finals' MVP award in the process. When it was over, the Lakers hugged each other as a group.

Then Bryant found Derek Fisher, the point guard that he had won three NBA titles with, the guy he had respect for, and hugged him long and hard.

It was the 10th championship that Lakers Coach Phil Jackson has won, breaking the tie he held with Red Auerbach for the most as a coach in NBA history. It was Jackson's fourth with the Lakers.

The Lakers had lost year's championship series to the Boston Celtics in six games, losing Game 6 by 39 points, the second-worst defeat in a game-clincher in NBA history.

But the Lakers won this championship in five games, two victories coming in overtime.

When Bryant made a three-pointer for an 83-67 lead with 8:19 left, he knew then the championship was for him and the Lakers.

When the Magic called a timeout, Bryant balled up his fist after he had scored. He bent over and clinched his teeth before taking a seat on the bench.

As the Lakers go forward, they'll have some decisions to make.

Bryant can terminate the last two years of his $47.8 million contract this summer and sign a five-year, $135-million deal with the Lakers. Bryant has said he wants to retire a Laker.

Jackson has one more year left on his contract at $12 million. He has said his health will be a factor in whether or not he returns. But Jackson is expected back next season.

Trevor Ariza, who had 15 points and five rebounds, and Lamar Odom, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds, both will be free agents this summer.

Ariza made $3.1 million this season and will be looking for a big pay raise.

Odom was on the Lakers' books for $14.1 million, but probably will have to take a pay cut to remain a Laker next season.

But all that is for another day.

This day, this Sunday, the Lakers celebrated an NBA championship.

::

After Lamar Odom had made the second of his back-to-back three-pointers, the Magic called a timeout with 6:38 left in the third quarter.

All of a sudden a chant of "Let's Go Lakers, Let's Go Lakers" rang out for the second time in this game.

It happened first in the second quarter.

Those Lakers fans in attendance could sense something good about to happen for their team while on its way to opening a 76-61 lead over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the NBA Finals tonight at Amway Arena.

The Lakers were 12 minutes away from winning the NBA championship.

The Lakers had turned a nine-point, first-quarter deficit into a 10-point halftime lead.

They pushed that lead to 16 points in the third.

Things got worse for the Magic when Dwight Howard picked up his fifth foul with 1:14 left in the third trying to defend Pau Gasol.

By the end of the third quarter, Kobe Bryant had 21 points, Lamar Odom had 14 points and eight rebounds, Gasol had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds and Derek Fisher had 11 points.

::

Trevor Ariza did it again, igniting the Lakers in the second quarter, helping L.A. open a 56-46 halftime lead.

Ariza had 11 of his 12 points in the second quarter. When the Lakers went on a 16-0 run, Ariza had seven of the points.

Kobe Bryant had 15 points and four assists in the first half.

Dwight Howard had eight points and five rebounds in the first half for the Magic.

After Derek Fisher made a three-pointer to pull the Lakers to within 40-39 with 5:44 left in the second, Ariza and Hedo Turkoglu were called for technical fouls.

The Magic called a timeout, but turned the ball over following the timeout.

That led to a three-pointer by Ariza.

Orlando missed again, leading to a jumper by Bryant that gave the Lakers a 44-40 lead, forcing the Magic to call a 20-second timeout.

Orlando missed another shot.

That led to another three-pointer by Ariza.

Then the Magic turned the ball over, leading to a Fisher layup for a 49-40 Lakers lead.

The Magic once again called a timeout with 3:33 left.

That did no good either.

Ariza stole a pass intended for Turkoglu and then forced him into a foul. Ariza made one of two free throws for a 50-40 Lakers lead.

The Magic turned the ball over again, leading to a 52-40 Lakers lead after Lamar Odom scored on a layup.

::

The Lakers knew the Orlando Magic would play hard tonight. The Lakers knew the Magic would play hard despite being down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

When the Magic built a nine-point lead early, the Lakers withstood the surge and pulled to within 28-26 at the end of the first quarter.

Kobe Bryant had 11 points in the first for the Lakers.

Courtney Lee led the Magic with eight points.

At the seven-minute mark, after the Lakers had turned the ball over yet again, after Bryant was doubled over following his turnover, and after the Magic had scored on a fastbreak, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson called a timeout.

His team was down, 15-6.

Andrew Bynum had missed all six of his shots. The Lakers were three-for-12 (25%) from the field. The Magic was shooting 70% (seven of 10) from the field.

Clearly, this was not the kind of start the Lakers had hoped for.

By the time Bynum took a rest with 4:08 left in the first, he was two for nine from the field.

::

The Lakers and Orlando Magic had been off for two days before Game 5, time to contemplate the task ahead.

For the Lakers, they spent Friday and Saturday dealing with talk about becoming NBA champions, about winning Game 5 at Amway Arena and having a party.

The Lakers' goal for this game was to not be overly excited.

"They're prepared, I think both emotionally and mentally for this game," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "Physically, if they can withstand the pace, they'll be fine."

The Lakers have a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. If they lose, the next two games would be at Staples Center, starting with Game 6 on Tuesday night.

If the Lakers win, it will be the 15th NBA championship in franchise history.

It would mean that Kobe Bryant will have won his fourth NBA title, his first without Shaquille O'Neal.

It would mean that Jackson would break his tie with Red Auerbach for the most championships as a coach, the two currently tied with nine.

"It's not about looking ahead," Jackson said this afternoon. "It's almost impossible because you have so many things that are prepped for this type of a game, so you really have to bear down on over-planning or prepping or thinking about the game and maintaining your focus at the present moment.

"That's basically what basketball is about. You can't get too far ahead. So in that regard, it takes four games to win a championship. So we know that this is going to be a difficult game."
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http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-magic15-2009jun15,0,2949343,print.story

Mamba · Jun 14, 2009

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LA Times: Lakers finish of Magic for 15th Championship

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