The Official Site of JJ Redick

Mon, Jun 15th 2009, 11:00

MAGIC ELIMINATED FROM FINALS; J.J. SCORES EIGHT POINTS

The Orlando Magic were left with a mountain of what ifs after they were closed out of The NBA Finals on Sunday by the Los Angeles Lakers. A Magic team that lost Games 2 and 4 in heartbreaking fashion fell behind in Game 5’s second quarter following a 16-0 Lakers run and Orlando never recovered in a 99-86 loss.

``Look at Game 2 and Game 4 and this could have very well been a close-out game for us,’’ Magic guard J.J. Redick said of Orlando’s two overtime losses. ``L.A. played hard every game and we didn’t play hard enough in Game 1, and at times, (in Game 5) we didn’t play hard enough again. They deserve to win more than we do, there’s no way around that.’’

The Lakers won their 15th title and the 10th of Phil Jackson’s famed coaching career by a 4-1 margin, but clearly this series was much closer than that. Orlando lost Game 2 in overtime after rookie Courtney Lee missed a layup lob at the regulation buzzer. And the Magic blew a five-point lead in the final 90 seconds of Game 4, excruciatingly so when Derek Fisher hit a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds to force overtime.

Those losses kept Orlando from winning the franchise’s first title. The Magic defied most oddsmakers this season, making it to The Finals even though defending champion Boston and top seed Cleveland were the heavy favorites. Orlando beat both the 62-win Celtics and the 66-win Cavaliers and put a scare into the 65-win Lakers.

But in the end, there was only the pain of having to watch the Lakers celebrate on the floor at Amway Arena for the Magic.

``It’s tough to see them win because you know the feeling that they have is being on the mountain top and we’re down in the valley right now,’’ J.J said. ``They are two completely different feelings.

``We really can’t take solace in anything right now because it hurts so bad. Two weeks, a month, maybe we can, but not now.’’

J.J. played extremely well in Sunday’s second half as the Magic frantically fought to get back into the game. In 13 minutes, he made all three of his shots, including two 3-pointers, and scored eight points. He also had three assists, using a drive-and-kick play to set up a 3-pointer for Rashard Lewis and two more of his passes led to easy baskets for Marcin Gortat.

In The Finals, J.J. averaged 5.5 points and 2.0 assists while averaging 16 minutes in five games. He made five 3-pointers in 11 tries, including a tying trey near the end of Game 2 in Los Angeles.

The end came way too early for the Magic on Sunday, but in many ways J.J. feels this is just the start of a long, successful run for Orlando.

``It was great to just play and experience being on this level,’’ he said. ``I’m a 24-year-old who hopefully has a long career ahead of me. I definitely enjoyed this moment and this is the kind of thing that makes me want to get back here and be a part of this team even more. We’ll get back here again.’’