The Official Site of JJ Redick

Sun, Jun 7th 2009, 22:32

MAGIC MISS CHANCES IN OVERTIME; J.J. SCORES 5 POINTS

J.J. Redick hit what he called ``the biggest shot of my NBA career, no doubt,’’ allowing the Orlando Magic to twice lead in the final two minutes of regulation. But when they failed to hold those leads and another one-point advantage in overtime frustration reigned for a Magic team that feels it missed a golden opportunity.

The Magic missed several chances to even the NBA Finals at 1-all on Sunday night, but lost 101-96 in overtime to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Orlando rookie guard Courtney Lee missed a layup in the final second of regulation and the Magic turned the ball over 20 times, allowing the Lakers to escape with a victory that put them up 2-0 in these NBA Finals.

``It’s very frustrating to lose a game like that,’’ J.J. said afterward. ``We definitely played hard enough to win, but the turnovers really hurt.’’

Game 3 comes Tuesday night back at Amway Arena in Orlando. The Finals format of 2-3-2 gives the Magic three straight games at home and a true chance to get back in the series even though they are staring at an 0-2 hole.

Rashard Lewis hit six 3-pointers and scored 34 points to lead the Magic. He had 20 of the Magic’s 35 points in the first half, including an 18-point second quarter to keep Orlando within striking distance.

Hedo Turkoglu had 22 points and another three 3-pointers. Turkoglu scored 17 points in the third quarter, allowing Orlando to take a 65-63 lead into the final period.

Magic star center Dwight Howard did a little bit of everything with 17 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocked shots. But Howard had seven turnovers, many of them coming when the ball was stripped out of his hands on post moves.

J.J. scored five points in 27 minutes and added two rebounds and an assist. J.J. evened up a back-and-forth game with 2:21 to play with a clutch 3-pointer from the corner that tied it at 84-all.

``The three from the corner was the biggest shot of my NBA career, without a doubt,’’ said J.J., who made two of nine shots. ``All my shots felt good leaving my hand. They just didn’t fall.’’

Riding the momentum of J.J.’s big 3-pointer, Orlando took an 86-84 lead on Lewis’ short bank shot. And they grabbed another two-point lead with 47 seconds remaining when Turkoglu buried a step-back jumper.

The Magic got the stop they needed with six-tenths of a second remaining when Turkoglu blocked Kobe Bryant’s shot. Following two timeouts, the Magic drew up a lob play for Lee, who failed to convert the buzzer-beating layup as Los Angeles’ Pau Gasol contested (and hit the rim).

``The Courtney play happened so fast that I didn’t really see anything. I was very surprised that he was that open,’’ J.J. remembered. ``It was still a tough angle to complete the play though. A tough break.’’

In overtime, Orlando grabbed a 91-90 lead on Howard’s tough three-point play. But Bryant, who scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half and overtime, converted a tough baseline jumper and the Magic failed to score in the next three possessions.

And with 1:14 to play, Bryant ran a pick-and-roll play to perfection, drawing two defenders to him and dishing to Pau Gasol, who converted an and-one play that gave the Lakers a game-sealing six-point lead.

Now, the Magic head home facing some daunting odds. Of the 30 times that teams have jumped to a 2-0 lead, they have gone on to win the championship 27 times. But the last team to dig out of such of a hole – the 2004 Miami Heat – also hailed from Florida. The Heat won all three games at home – the same thing the Magic hope to do at noisy Amway Arena.

``We are very confident going home regardless of the outcome (Sunday night),’’ J.J. said. ``This team is very resilient and I expect us to play well in Game 3.’’