Daily Sports News

Great Britain moved towards home hoping their European Championships campaign would earn them enough for a wild card entry for next year’s World Championship held in Turkey.

Great Britain lost all three games they played in Euro basket Championships at Warsaw and have coped to won just once in 12 internationals this summer. However, their struggling performances against three teams gained many admirers. Bob Elphinston FIBA president uttered they must prove themselves as spirited week after week which is yet to be seen but they are given a chance. FIBA eager to witness if the team is ready to compete at London Olympics held in 2012. Decision is yet to be made at the next Central Board meeting of FIBA in Istanbul. Chris Finch coach of Great Britain supposes this would be a great Christmas gift if it happens and his team is not million miles away of being to participate at European Championships.

The Lakers have once again turned on the heat for the Magic as they beat the Magic in OT to take a 3-1 lead in the 7 match finals as they pulled off an stunning 99-91 victory over the Magic. This comes at the back of the Magic victory at the Amway arena in the third game. The Lakers rallied to beat the Magic in the 4th quarter, when the Magic had a 7 pt lead. The Lakers then managed to get on terms as the Magic missed their shots and with 7 seconds remaining, the Derek Fisher scored an astounding three pointer, leaving the Magic with 4.6 seconds on the clock.

The Magic immediately called for a time out but failed to capitalize as they missed the hoop and the game went into overtime. Then it was Lakers all the way, after they took the lead 91-90, and the Magic couldn’t find their feet. With this the Lakers won their second OT game and now are just one game win from their 15th championship. This is the first time since Magic Johnson’s Lakers and Larry Bird’s time that two games in the finals have gone to OT. So, Bryant and Wright may not be as great as them, but they may leave a legacy behind as this season finals seems to be hotly contested.

As expected Kobe had 32pts, 8 assists and 7 rebounds for the Lakers. But the dark horse of this game was Derek Fisher, who has previously bailed out the Lakers in many a difficult game. Ariza too contributed when needed. But Howard had a terrible night, as he missed many from the free throw line and was just 6 of 14. Had he gotten two more points from the throws he got in the dead of the 4th quarter they would have all but sealed the Magic’s win and the series would have been tied 2 a piece!!!!!!! But Howard did manage 16 points, 21 rebounds and a finals-record nine blocked shots. Hence, the Superman’s cape was left wrinkled and torn…..

The loss, as far as I can see it, is because of the Magic’s poor show from the free throw line as they were 22/37. Moreover the Magic missed a slew of opportunities which would have sealed the game in their favor. Once again the Magic have to beat the odds which they have been doing all season, injuries, playoff deficits and buzzer-beaters, etc, etc…..

However this obstacle might be too difficult to overcome as only eight NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 hole in a best-of-seven series. Is this the end of a well fought season for the Magic?!!

The wait is over…. The Magic have won their first NBA final after 20 years. So there is no blaming them for all the fanfare, which seemed as if they had won the series…..

There was no stopping the Magic as they held off the Lakers to a four point victory, 108-104, in front of their home crowd, at the Amway arena. This was pulled off in a nice fashion after they put up a nine point lead in the fourth. With this victory, they stopped the Lakers’s victory parade and made even Bryant look vulnerable…. Most of the Lakers’s shots ended up in the loo.

In seven tries, this is the first victory for the Magic, and this means a lot to the fans as well as the franchise. The Magic improved their shooting immensively with a record 62.5 success rate. However, it was a bad day for Kobe despite leadig all the scores wit 31 pts as he missed a key free throw and then turning over the ball, dribbling it off his foot. But from the Magic side, it was a complete team effort as five players scored atleast 18pts. Dwight Howard had 21 pts, Lewis 21, Alston 20 while Pietrus and Tukoglu had 18. Playing their first final at their home since 1995, the Magic managed to erase that 6 consecutive losing streak. They were destroyed by the Rockets 14 yrs ago. The Magic lost the first two games, by 25 pts and by 5 pts, respectively. Still despite a success rate of 62.5, the game was close call as the Magic couldn’t control the Lakers very well. This success rate managed to eclipse the Bull’s 18 year old record.

“I’ve said it throughout the season and throughout these playoffs,” Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said.

“The one thing that you can’t question about our team is their resilience in situations like that, whether it’s from game to game, minute to minute our team will keep playing.”

Then again, the praise must be with the Magic, as the managed to keep the heat n the Lakers and pull off a victory as the talks of the team’s resiliency showed. Moreover despite Phil Jackson’s experience and mind games, his statements backfired as it was like poking the Magic with a stick after their bitter losses. And so, no matter which team should be up 2-1 now, the Magic feel they are right back in this series and believe they can pull off, what according to their critics has been claimed impossible. The Magic not only avoided a sweep, but managed to give the soon to be scuttled Amway Arena, three more games which will be a great meal for their hungry fans.

“We were taking better shots tonight,” Howard said.

“We didn’t rush. We attacked. That allowed us to get some easier shots. Instead of us shooting the ball with a big guy Lamar Odom or Gasol in our face, we did a good job of getting to the rim. Skip (Alston) did a good job of attacking and allowing guys to get open for free shots.”

So, have the Lakers began celebrating too soon????

The second game between the Lakers and Magic was surely more competitive than the first game, where the Magic were thrashed 100-75 by the Lakers. Despite the fact that the Magic managed to push the Lakers to overtime, the pure leadership qualities and experience of the Laker enabled them to pull off another win, 101-96, thereby allowing them to take a comfortable 2-0 lead in the 7 match series. As they say, the best players in the world, are often team players and Kobe Bryant proved nonetheless….. In this game all he played a less prominent role, allowing his teammates to get more involved despite the fact he scored a team high 29 pts. But this plan did workout and hence his team mates, Gasol contributed 24 pts, Odom who came off the bench with an amazing score of 19 pts while Fisher had 12 pts.

But the Magic have a lot to improve to if they are to beat the Lakers as the Magic missed almost 20 three point shoots as though they managed 10 which kept them on trail of the Lakers. Had this three point counts been different, the series would have been tied 1-1 as the Magic would have returned home victorious. The next two games are to be held at Orlando, with the next game scheduled for tomorrow. The fifth game, if necessary, will also take place at the Amway arena, whereas the last two games being held at Los Angles. The Magic are, sadly, 0-6 in all time in the NBA finals. Once again, Howard was shunted out of the game being held to 17 pts and 16 rebounds,though he did passed around with superior efficiency. However the positives from this game for the Magic was that Lewis contributed 34 pts and Turkoglu scored 22. This shows the potential of the Magic team which if proves to be more cohesive and efficient can outplay the Lakers.

In the first game, as the Lakers rallied behind Kobe’s 40 pts to rout the Magic by 25 pts with a 100-75 win. But in this game,  Orlando cut the lead early in the 2nd half and held a two point lead (88-86) with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter. The stage was set for a nail biting finish as the Lakers equalized with 33 seconds to spare. But in overtime, all went wrong for the Magic as the Lakers used a 7-0 run to take the lead for good as the match finally ended after an array of nine free throws in favor of the Lakers.

Gasol in a post match news conference said “We’re in a good position right now” and how true his statement is as any team would love to have a 2-0 lead in the Finals. So as we approach the third game, fans of the two teams will be having different prayers….

One will be hoping to wrap the series as soon as possible as everything is going as per their will, while another will be hoping to comeback strong and turn the series in their favor…