After watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals last night, I finally got the sense that the championship series has finally began.
Orlando's thrilling 108-104 victory over Los Angeles was the type of game I was expecting from the beginning. It took us a few nights, but we finally got type of basketball that we were all hoping to see from the outset.
These are two finesse teams that can really put the ball in the basket. The goon tactics that sometimes dominate the playoffs was finally going to take a back seat to the great skill and shooting of the Magic and Lakers players. That's what we saw last night.
Both teams were on fire throughout the evening. Orlando shot a NBA Finals record 62.5 percent and shot a sizzling 75 percent from the field in the first half.
Despite that white-hot shooting, they barely held off the the Lakers because they shot 51 percent themselves and hit their first seven shots in the fourth quarter.
The stars performed and everyone else got to eat at the trough. That is the way it is supposed to be. Dwight Howard led his charges with 21 points and 14 rebounds and general inside dominance while Kobe Bryant had 31 points, most coming in a scintillating second-quarter barrage of 17 points.
The end of the game was not classic Kobe with the missed free throws and turnover, but that happens to the best of them once in a while.
Both teams had five players score in double figures while topping the 100-point mark. That ball movement was great, the tempo was fast and the shooting was spectacular.
It looks like it took the Magic a couple of games to get their championship sea-legs. They were way out of synch in LA. They scored only 75 points in Game 1 and committed 20 turnovers in Game 2. In Game 3, we saw the team that is almost impossible to match up against with its young beast in the middle and 6'10" jump shooting forwards making plays.
Even with a flawness night of basketball by the Magic, the Lakers still had a chance to pull it out in the end. The main culprit was free throws. They hit only 16 of 26 (61 percent) while the Magic were 23 of 30 (76 percent).
it was a great evening of entertaining basketball to watch if you are a fan of seeing the game played the right way.
Hopefully, this will continue for the rest of the series. If it does, it can be one of the most entertaining in recent memory.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Orlando's thrilling 108-104 victory over Los Angeles was the type of game I was expecting from the beginning. It took us a few nights, but we finally got type of basketball that we were all hoping to see from the outset.
These are two finesse teams that can really put the ball in the basket. The goon tactics that sometimes dominate the playoffs was finally going to take a back seat to the great skill and shooting of the Magic and Lakers players. That's what we saw last night.
Both teams were on fire throughout the evening. Orlando shot a NBA Finals record 62.5 percent and shot a sizzling 75 percent from the field in the first half.
Despite that white-hot shooting, they barely held off the the Lakers because they shot 51 percent themselves and hit their first seven shots in the fourth quarter.
The stars performed and everyone else got to eat at the trough. That is the way it is supposed to be. Dwight Howard led his charges with 21 points and 14 rebounds and general inside dominance while Kobe Bryant had 31 points, most coming in a scintillating second-quarter barrage of 17 points.
The end of the game was not classic Kobe with the missed free throws and turnover, but that happens to the best of them once in a while.
Both teams had five players score in double figures while topping the 100-point mark. That ball movement was great, the tempo was fast and the shooting was spectacular.
It looks like it took the Magic a couple of games to get their championship sea-legs. They were way out of synch in LA. They scored only 75 points in Game 1 and committed 20 turnovers in Game 2. In Game 3, we saw the team that is almost impossible to match up against with its young beast in the middle and 6'10" jump shooting forwards making plays.
Even with a flawness night of basketball by the Magic, the Lakers still had a chance to pull it out in the end. The main culprit was free throws. They hit only 16 of 26 (61 percent) while the Magic were 23 of 30 (76 percent).
it was a great evening of entertaining basketball to watch if you are a fan of seeing the game played the right way.
Hopefully, this will continue for the rest of the series. If it does, it can be one of the most entertaining in recent memory.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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