NBA Finals Game One: Live Blog
June 5th 2009 00:08
It's go time!
I'm not going to lie, this game is putting me to sleep. If this whole thing just stops at some point, you know what happened.
This has just been a pitiful performance all the way around from the Magic. From the moment they took that lead with Nelson on the court, it's been All Lakers and they lead by 26 in the fourth quarter. Van Gundy did a horrible coaching job and Courtney Lee has been exposed over and over again. If I'm Stan Van, I'm considering putting the bigger Pietrus into the starting lineup for Game 2.
Well i'm beat. This game is over. I'll gather my thoughts in the morning. Everyone enjoy their nights. I'll see ya when I see ya! Peace!
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Orlando is shooting 30 percent from the floor tonight. Pitiful.
Bryant is inching closer to a triple-double as he gathers in his seventh rebound. You're looking at a performance for the ages here from Kobe Bryant.
Lakers finish the third up 24. It's academic now.
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Brilliant move by Kobe as the shot clock expires and it's just going to be a long night for Orlando. The momentum has been in the Lakers' favor for a long time now and there's just no stopping it. I know Orlando has made the comeback stylish, but Kobe is dialed in as he just puts the Lakers up 20.
Kobe Bryant has taken over. Pretty play by Bryant on the isolation and he gets the bucket and the foul with a kiss off the glass. Kobe's up to 34 for the game and 16 in the quarter.
Kobe draws another foul we get a TV timeout. Warm up the buses.
TV Timeout: Lakers 75, Magic 55.
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Jameer Nelson will start the second half on the bench. Good move by Stan Van.
Kobe's still on fire. Four points off the jump. 22 for Kobe so far.
Bynum picks up his fourth foul of the contest. Bynum has been great when he's been on the floor but he's been in foul trouble all night.
The Magic are really fighting to stay in this game. Down 59-50 but they need to try and slow Kobe down. Courtney Lee is not getting the job done at all.
"You need to make [shots] to stay in the game."- Jeff Van Gundy. Well hot damn, didn't know that prior to this broadcast.
Orlando cannot hit its threes. I wrote in the preview that they had to hit these shots to win the series and it's just not happening. Orlando's 2-10 from the field in this quarter.
Kobe...and the foul! Just one of those nights for Mr. Bryant.
Howard picks up his third foul on the offensive end. Lakers by 14.
Odom and the foul! It's getting out of control. The USS Stan Van is taking on water, and fast. Man the three point cannons...fast!
Gasol puts the Lakers up 18 and Stan Van has seen enough. Timeout on the court.
Orlando Timeout: Lakers 68, Magic 50
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Howard just got mugged and then walked as he was being mugged. Make a call ref, grow a pair.
Kobe's up to six assists with a pretty feed to Gasol for the standstill jumper. Can you say double-double?
Nelson took a shot to the man region on a scrum on the baseline. Lovely shot of him grabbing and re-adjusting himself.
A fan behind the broadcast booth yelled "Crawford, you stink!" Truer words were never spoken.
Kobe with a pretty bucket as the clock was winding down and Nelson isn't able to get off a heave at the buzzer. Terrible way to end the half for Orlando. Stan Van Gundy coached a horrible half and Phil Jackson took advantage. Kobe's been a beast. Howard needs to step it up in the second half.
I'll be back after the half.
Halftime: Lakers 53, Magic 43.
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Another non-call for Howard on the inside. He got mugged.
A lot of contact on the other end but no call there either.
"They're letting them play early."- Mike Breen. There's four minutes left in the first half. I don't know what you're definition of early is, but this sure isn't early.
Bynum picks up his third foul and promptly strolls back to the bench for the final four minutes.
"Not just one game, you've got to win four." Marc Jackson. Well you don't say.....
Gorgeous shot by Kobe over Pietrus. Sometimes life isn't fair, and this is one of those times for Mickael Pietrus.
Kobe's got it going on, another deuce and he's up to 16.
Orlando's falling apart. An airball by Turkoglu leads to a TV timeout.
TV Timeout: Lakers 45, Magic 39.
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Marc Jackson with his second failed pun trying to make fun of the Van Gundy's. STOP TRYING!
The wheels are starting to come off a bit for Orlando. Shots aren't falling and they aren't even taking quality shots. Stan Van calls another time out as the Lakers start to try and pull away.
Orlando timeout: Lakers 38, Magic 35. 10-0 run by the Lakers.
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Gortat has been great defensively off the bench since Howard went out with the second foul. He's a free agent for all of you GM's out there.
Howard is headed to the scorers table and will be coming in as the Lakers take a 34-33 lead. Courtney Lee is getting exposed by Luke Walton. That's when you know you're in trouble.
Orlando timeout: Lakers 34, Magic 33
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Jameer Nelson is in for the first time since February and makes a great dish to Gortat for a jam. He then follows it up with a dish to Lewis for a three. Great work by Jameer.
Jameer with a quick deuce. If this were NBA Jam, he'd be on fire.
Rashard Lewis just out rebounded and out hustled three Lakers for what should have been an easy board. It's plays like that that can swing games and series.
Pietrus is ice cold. Should have stuck with the Hyperdunks.
Jameer with his third assist and Phil Jackson has seen enough.
Marc Jackson tries a Jameer/Full Nelson pun. First bad pun of the series from this hack. Won't be the last.
Lakers Timeout: Magic 33, Lakers 28.
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Howard picks up his second foul on an offensive on a blatant flop by Gasol. Superman heads to the bench as Marcin Gortat comes in for him.
Amazingly terrible sequence by Lamar Odom. First he read the bounce off the rim so poorly he ended up near the Laker Girls. Then he picks up a terrible foul on Rashard Lewis and sends him to the stripe.
Orlando has done a great job of maintaining rhythm and keeping the crowd out of this game.
Kobe tries to take it himself but doesn't get the call as the ball hangs on the rim. The Magic lead by two at the end of one.
End of 1st Quarter: Magic 24, Lakers 22
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By the way, Stan Van Gundy still looks like hell even why he tries to clean up. I'm shocked though with his wardrobe. A polo shirt?! Get out! Must have lost his t-shirts in transit from Orlando.
Orlando's doing a good job of using the threat of its three point offense to create stuff in the paint. Turkoglu finds an open Tony Battie for a stuff.
"They're really playing off Tony Battie."- Mike Breen. That's because he can't shoot Mike, and he's proving it. Two missed open jumpers by Battie.
Bynum picks up his second foul. That'll happen to you going against Dwight Howard. Lamar Odom replaces him in the lineup.
Battie picks up the easiest block of his career. Just stood there and Gasol shot it into his arms. Smooth. REAL smooth.
TV Timeout: Lakers 20, Magic 18
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And we're underway! As you can see, I'm posting new material at the top so you don't have to scroll down to read the new stuff.
So Howard gets hit so hard they're going to need to file a police report on the incident on the first possession and then they call a soft foul on Turkoglu on the other end. Is Joey Crawford in attendance?
Turkoglu with a three. Orlando is going to need that all series. If you get an open look, you've got to drain it.
Orlando is looking good early on. The offense is crisp, the interior defense is leaving something to be desired though. All six Lakers points are in the paint.
Andrew Bynum is in beast mode early on. Six points, three boards. I guess all that fear I smelled in the pregame intros is motivating him. Dwight has to take him seriously.
Kobe Bryant is locked in early on. I think he looked less serious during his court proceedings in Colorado a few years back.
Terrible foul call on Superman against Bynum. Atrocious. Tim Donaghy is out of jail and he's back in the Finals. Only on ABC!
TV Timeout: Tied at 14
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Well the waiting is finally over, the NBA Finals are here! Game one tips in about an hour and after it does, be sure to come back here where I'll be live blogging the whole thing.
But for now, as promised, my predictions for tonight and the series.
I expect the Lakers to come out strong and try to send a message early on. If Orlando can withstand this early barrage and keep it close, the Magic are going to have a chance to win this thing.
If they don't, it is going to be a long night for Orlando. Hopefully Jameer Nelson, who will be activated tonight, will be able to give the Magic something, anything, off the bench.
This is essentially a must win game for Orlando. When Phil Jackson's team wins Game 1 of series, he's never lost the series. So yeah...win, or you're going to have to re-write history.
Unfortunately for Orlando and its fans, I have the Lakers winning tonight and the series in six games.
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Comment by Chuck H
Two Cents From Beantown
TCFB