With a little help from their friends, Lakers win Game 2 in OT
The Lakers survived a tough test, but beat the Magic, 101-96, in overtime.
The officiating was pretty awful in this game, especially in the first quarter and down the stretch. There was a series of calls late in the game that were all questionable and all went in the Lakers’ favor. Mickael Pietrus was called for a bogus foul on a Kobe Bryant drive, Hedo Turkoglu was called for a cheap offensive foul which wiped away a nice little jumper, and Lamar Odom drilled Courtney Lee on his driving layup attempt with less than ten seconds to play in regulation, and no foul was called. Orlando’s last best chance to win was Lee’s alley-oop attempt with 0.6 seconds to play, but the lob pass was a little too deep and he was unable to convert the shot.
The Lakers executed well in overtime, and Odom uncharacteristically made two clutch free throws to put the Lakers up by five with 0:22 to play. J.J. Redick and Rashard Lewis had a couple of tough, contested three point attempts to cut into the lead, but time expired with a pair of misses.
I can’t help but leave this game thinking that if not for the help from the officials, the Lakers would have lost this game in regulation. I guess that’s just home court advantage, but it really seemed like the refs took over the game down the stretch instead of letting the players battle it out.
Kobe had 29 points, eight assists, four rebounds and seven turnovers. Pau Gasol added 24 points and 10 boards, and Odom once again had a good game off the bench, posting 19 points and eight boards. If he keeps playing like this, the Lakers will have to re-sign him this offseason.
Orlando got great play from Lewis (34 points) and Turkoglu (22 points), and while Dwight Howard had 17 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and four steals, he also had seven turnovers, which is waaaaaaay too many for a big man. He spent a lot of time complaining to the refs when he lost the ball instead of getting back on defense.
The problem for the Magic is that they aren’t getting much production from their supporting cast. The rest of the Magic went 8 for 31 from the field, lowlighted by Rafer Alston’s 1 for 8 performance. He seems bothered by Jameer Nelson’s presence, but the Magic need a fourth and fifth guy to make some shots.
The Lakers are doing a good job of rotating and keeping the Magic from getting easy baskets, but Orlando had a ton of open shots in the first half and just couldn’t convert.
soo you must not have paid attention to the first three quarters of the game because the lakers were not getting any calls and the magic were getting away with everything. and thats the reason the magic were in the game in the first place the refs saved them until lewis started hitting his shots and hedo got warm then they started calling it even but the lakers did kind of get a few petty calls at the end but the magic got three quarters worth and did not take advantage.
Jimmy — I remember that the Lakers got a bunch of ticky tack calls that went their way in the first quarter, and then again in the fourth. In the second and third quarters, the officiating seemed fairly even. I am not a fan of either of these teams, so I think I can speak fairly objectively. Can you say the same, Mr. Smith?
I thought the officiating was horrendous. In the first half, guys were getting called for ticky tack fouls, although the refs were equally horrible on both ends of the floor. Bynum was getting called for phantom fouls in the first quarter, while Pietrus and Lee were getting called for very, very questionable fouls on Bryant. However, Bynum in foul trouble probably helps the lakers more than it hurts them because of the tremendous play of lamar odom, while Pietrus is an integral part of Orlando’s rotation.
In the fourth quarter, however, the officiating was very much in the laker’s favor. Ariza was playing very agressive defense (pushing/reaching in) on Turkoglu, yet Hedo gets called for a slight push off on a critical play down the stretch.
I think of all the playmakers in the NBA, Turkoglu gets the harshest treatment from the refs. As a big man playing around the perimeter, Turkoglu often gets treated like he’s a big man playing in the post.
While it was not the only reason that the Magic lost, (the officiating did not go their way against Cleveland) and it will not go their way in this series. They accepted that LeBron would get calls that Turkoglu would not and they have to accept that the same situation will occur with Bryant.
I’m sticking with my pre-series pick of Magic in 7.
The officiating is still the biggest problem in the NBA. Someone mentioned last week that the NBA creates new officiating teams during the playoffs, and it’s obvious these guys don’t know how to work together.
I’m a huge Laker fan and I admit that the Lakers got a couple calls their way in the 4th quarter. Both teams played poorly in my opinion and I think the low-scoring play during the first couple quarters dictates that. I can’t say who should have won, but I’m sure the Lakers will get a couple bogus calls on them in Orlando. Gerardo’s correct about the officiating — it’s just so uneven.
Whereas I though game 1 was called down the middle, I couldn’t tell what the refs were thinking in game 2. It’s just lame.
Well, if a Laker fan is even admitting that most of the calls went their way down the stretch, then you know that the officiating must have been really slanted. Laker fans don’t admit anything!
For the sake of basketball I just want the games called evenly. I don’t think either team deserved to win game 2, both played so uncharacteristically and the officiating was so bad I can’t take it seriously. If the Lakers blow out the Magic in Orlando in any of the following games I think we can forgive their luck in game 2.
On an another, if the Lakers simply went into the paint more I think they would have an easier time with the Magic. Kobe, Ariza, and Fisher are so apt to play around the perimeter, I think the Magic realize that and are playing strong defensively against them. A simple give-and-go to Odom or Gasol could do wonders. I think I saw that once last night.
That’s pretty funny. The Lakers were called for 25 fouls while the Tragic were called for 24. The Lakers shot 28 free throws to the Tragic’s 27. I’m calling B.S. on your whiney hackluster rant.
Joe — I was waiting for someone to throw the box score in my face, so thank you for that.
It’s so simple-minded to look at the box score and say that since the fouls and foul shots were even that the game was called evenly. The problem with your line of reasoning is that you’re assuming that the two teams committed the same number of fouls (whether or not they were called). This is almost never the case, and it certainly wasn’t the case last night (at least when the game is viewed with somewhat objective eyes).
But since you’re referring to the Magic as the “Tragic,” I have to assume that you’re a Laker fan, and thusly there is a slim chance that you can be reasoned with. I call B.S. on your objectivity.
I guess there’s no reason to watch the games if we can get everything we need from the box scores at night…
I never laid claim to objectivity and offer the box score as merely one piece of evidence to the contrary regarding your assertion that the main reason that the Lakers won was because of officiating. Why was Howard able to put his hand up through the rim so blatantly and goaltend Gasol’s shot without a call from the refs you imply are in the tank for the Lakers? Why does Howard get away with setting an illegal screen every other play on offense? How does Pietrus get away with tapping Kobe’s forearm nearly everytime he shoots. As far as sheer physicality goes a lot has been let go on both sides for sure especially at the end of games but we do want the players to ultimately decide, right? I actually respect Orlando for their lack of whining(unlike the Thuggets, Smeltics, and Slurs) and appreciate their wide open game yet dub them the Tragic due to their unfortunate matchup with the Lakers who I have enjoyed watching since Magic first laced them up. If they were playing any other team from the west I would be rooting for them. The whole conspiracy theory stuff wears thin. I don’t wear tin foil hats and consult survival manuals in my spare time.I call B.S. on your tortured dislay of so called reason.
That would be “display” in the last line. Debating hoops is fun and I respect all parties involved.
I just call them like I see them. I don’t remember saying there was a conspiracy, I merely said they wouldn’t have won the game without the refs’ help in the fourth quarter, whether it was intentional or unintentional. It was a close game and the officials were the difference, IMO.
The officials certainly missed Howard’s goaltend, but for the most part he sets legal screens and the one that they called him on, he didn’t move (Fisher flopped). As for Pietrus’s tapping of Kobe’s arm, Bryant gets away with that on the other end. He is not, however, called for phantom fouls when the Magic guards go to the hole like Pietrus was. And what about Trevor Ariza humping Turkoglu like a dog in heat every time he dribbles the ball?
I thought the Magic played better than the Lakers last night and had several calls go against them late in the game. Call it whiny if you like, but that’s the way I saw the game. It’s just a shame because we could easily have a tied series heading back to Orlando.
I just think the Lakers deserve a little more credit for making plays down the stretch just like the Tragic deserve some credit for actually bringing it last night.I don’t think it was 8 on 5 for the Lakers.Orlando outplayed L.A. for 47 minutes but were outexecuted the last 6 of the ballgame.Anymore, Kobe is pretty much a rover on defense like Pippen used to be which rarely has him in a position to really contest a shot like he should.Sometimes, to the detriment of the Laker’s team defense he gets caught with his head turned or gambling so I disagree that he often taps forearms. How could he when he is so often out of position? Howard moves on his screens ever so slightly, which for a guy of his strength still has the desired effect of impeding the defensive player. Ariza, like Howard has built a rep for physical defense and does it in a quick, sly fashion. Personally I would be disappointed to see Ariza or Howard foul out because I want to see the best players on the floor.I do think that this will end up being a close series but would not be too sad if proved wrong.
I don’t think it was 8 on 5 either, more like 7 on 6…I gave the Lakers credit for what they did in OT…
The Lakers executed well in overtime, and Odom uncharacteristically made two clutch free throws to put the Lakers up by five with 0:22 to play. J.J. Redick and Rashard Lewis had a couple of tough, contested three point attempts to cut into the lead, but time expired with a pair of misses.
When Kobe covers the shooters, he gets away with the same stuff. I’ve seen it all season. Your Howard/Ariza discussions smacks of Laker homer-ism, but that’s okay. I don’t think too many observers would watch what Ariza did to Turkoglu on the perimeter and think it was clean defense. (Read Nadim’s post above.)
Look, the Lakers deserve credit for winning the game. Poor officiating, especially down the stretch, kept the game close when the Magic could have been ahead by four or six points. It was just one factor that led to a Laker win, which is why I titled the post, “With a little help from their friends…” L.A. played great in the OT, which I stated in the original post.
I think the comparison with Trevor and Dwight is legit. Howard gets away with multiple push offs, over the backs, and moving screens. Trevor gets away with Bruce Bowen style hacks, grabs, and bearhugs. As the annoying cliche goes it is what it is. If they called every Howard hack or Ariza assault we wouldn’t have a game now would we? We would just have a bunch of teed off millionaires twiddling their thumbs on the bench and we would not have much to debate except the insanity of the situation and perhaps a fascinating Mbenga/Battie matchup. I just can’t wait for that one.I personally prefer the 80′s style of hoops. I too just call it like I see it.
The big difference there is one player is a big man who fights for position inside and the other is a perimeter player. Pietrus gets away with nothing, and even gets called for fouls when there is no contact, while Ariza is allowed to dry hump Turkoglu over and over on the perimeter. If you remember, Howard got called for a push off on a key offensive rebound late in the game. I watched the call in slow mo and it wasn’t a foul. Big surprise.
There is always more contact inside than there is on the perimeter. That’s the way the game has been called for forty-plus years.
We will have to agree to disagree. I’m out. Good game.