Lance Stephenson Goes Coast-to-Coast on the Knicks, Goes Right Through Raymond Felton 
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Game 2: Lakers win ugly despite Rashard’s big night
That's two...
Congratulations if you actually stuck around for the fourth quarter and overtime of Lakers/Magic, in which Kobe and crew took a 2-0 series lead in their first tough test in what seemed like weeks; If you hung in there, you were rewarded for the overall grossness of the first three quarters with some entertaining ball down the stretch … While it looked like Orlando and L.A. had been possessed by the ghosts of Mike Fratello‘s Cavs and John Chaney‘s Temple Owls, at least it was a close game all the way through. Late in the fourth, L.A. led by three before J.J. Redick hit a corner triple to tie it (the only good thing he did all game), then Rashard Lewis converted a tough banker for the lead. Kobe responded with his own banker, but then Hedo Turkoglu broke the tie with a nasty step-back J over two defenders that warranted (at least in his mind) an impersonation of Dirk Nowitzki‘s impersonation of Michael Jordan. Pau Gasol then tied it with a bucket inside, and on what could have been a game-winning possession, Orlando put together an awful 20-plus seconds of basketball where everybody seemed lost, neither Dwight Howard or Rashard touched the ball and — after a surprisingly nice move to the cup by Courtney Lee — resulted in a missed layup. Kobe (29 pts, 8 asts, 10-22 FG) had his shot blocked clean by Hedo on L.A.’s ensuing possession, and when Mamba went back to the bench punching chairs and seething at the refs, you could see Phil Jackson just sitting there grinning at him. The refs put 0.6 back on the clock for Orlando, and they got a beautiful Hedo-to-Lee inbounds lob that Hedo placed perfectly, but Lee missed the easy layup … And in the overtime, just like regulation, Orlando gave away their best opportunities. Redick missed a wide-open three, Hedo had a crucial jumper rattle out, and while Rashard did his best to keep it close, the Lakers were just too good at the free throw line. They made their last 14 freebies in a row, with everybody from Pau (24 pts, 10 rebs) to Derek Fisher to Lamar Odom (19 pts, 8 rebs) becoming automatic … Late in OT, Rashard missed a three and Dwight (17 pts, 16 rebs, 4 stls, 4 blks) pushed Gasol in the back going for the rebound. Playing up the contact, Gasol took off flying like a cross between a 7-foot ballerina and the world’s tallest Soulja Boy backup dancer. YOOOOOUUUUU!! … For the most part, though, the game was pretty grimy. The teams set a Finals record for fewest points in the first quarter when they each scored 15 — a collage of Trevor Ariza bricks, Orlando turnovers, and weak calls on both sides — followed by lowlights like Marcin Gortat throwing up airballs from the baseline, and guys crashing into each other in the lane and awkwardly pausing, waiting for a whistle that never came. The defining sequence came in the second quarter, when Jordan Farmar airballed a reverse layup, got it back and squeezed off a short jumper that hit the bottom of the rim …
Raw Lew (photo. Orlando Sentinel)
Lewis (34 pts, 11 rebs, 7 asts, 6 threes) dominated the second quarter, scoring 18 of Orlando’s 20 points, but even that was overshadowed by how terrible his team was playing overall. Not that the Lakers were playing much better, but every time they made a mini-run to get a little lead, Rashard would stick a three to calm them down. And even when he was scorching the net and literally the only guy L.A. needed to worry about, they still let him roam around the arc unguarded … On the bright side for Orlando, their money guys — Raw Lew, Hedo (22 pts, 6 rebs) and Dwight — were all more effective offensively; Dwight even got his first dunk of the series during the third quarter. Hedo hit some truly difficult shots throughout, and although the Lakers put the clamps on Rashard after his hot first half, he still hit some big shots in the second … One exchange summed up Andrew Bynum’s postseason so far: When Bynum picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter and had to sit, Jeff Van Gundy wondered out loud whether that was actually a good thing for the Magic or a bad thing. Mark Jackson seemed to think it was in Orlando’s best interest to keep Bynum on the court … “American Idol” winner Kris Allen rocked the National Anthem, except for that “The land of the FRAAAAAAY” line. And he could have been more lively, but not everyone can match the energy of Cuba Gooding Jr.‘s dad. During the Anthem, the look on Sasha Vujacic’s face said, “Whatever. I voted for Lambert.” … Funniest moment of the night: Ariza was called for a reach-in on Dwight that brought down a flood of boos from the Staples Center crowd and made Jack Nicholson leap out of his seat, cussing out the refs in full “YOU F***ED WITH THE WRONG MARINE!!” mode. Jack got so animated that Stan Van Gundy had to sidestep him just to see what was happening … We’re out like ordering the Code Red …
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