Magic had victory in rookie's hands ... twice

LOS ANGELES -- Courtney Lee sat in an almost-empty gym in Orlando last summer and watched. He wanted to learn.

The best in the game happened to be in town as part of a family trip to Disney World, but Kobe Bryant is never truly on vacation. The reigning MVP was getting some extra work in before joining the Redeem Team for the Olympics and arranged to use the Magic's practice facility to work out when Mickey Mouse wasn't occupying the kiddos.

Lee happened to be around, too, and hearing that Kobe would be wearing out Orlando's rims, the Magic rookie-to-be made sure to be there at 7 a.m. sharp each morning. Lee studied Bryant from afar, electing not to introduce himself to Kobe during his personal sessions.

"He probably didn't know who I was," Lee said humbly after navigating through a minefield of questions inside the cramped and damp Orlando locker room early Sunday evening.

The Magic didn't lose Game 2 of The Finals because of the rookie shooting guard who played nine seconds shy of 12 minutes. What the rookie shooting guard did do is miss two good -- scratch that -- real good shots in the final 11 seconds of regulation.

Each of the shots could have tied the series at 1-1. These are the kind of shots that Bryant, the guy Lee marveled at for his dedication and work ethic 11 months ago, doesn't miss. These are the kinds of shots the Magic can't afford to miss.

"We had chances to win," an exasperated Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said after his team fell into a 2-0 hole. "We didn't get it done."

Given a second chance in overtime after Lee's second miss, Bryant and his costars didn't whiff. The Lakers leave Los Angeles halfway to a title -- the grease board inside the locker room read "2 Mo" -- after slipping past the Magic 101-96 in overtime at Staples Center. The best-of-seven resumes Tuesday night with the first of three potential games in Orlando. (Note: Catch a replay of Game 2 at noon ET Monday on NBA TV.)

Coming off a 25-point beating three nights ago, Van Gundy threw all he could at the Lakers in Game 2. He abandoned point guards Rafer Alston and Jameer Nelson for the last nine minutes of regulation. He went big with Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat playing together. Hedo Turkoglu played both guard and both forward spots. Rashard Lewis moved around. J.J. Redick was plucked out of the moth balls.

And it almost worked.

"I'm not sure I got another lineup to throw out there that you haven't seen now, OK," Van Gundy said, "unless I'm going to play Dwight, Marcin, Tony [Battie], Rashard and Hedo. I don't have another one."

The lineup of 6-foot-10 and above probably won't debut in Game 3. The Lakers, though, wouldn't be surprised. The defending Western Conference champs came into Sunday expecting a fight and the Magic came out swinging. Orlando never lost sight of L.A., unlike the putrid effort Thursday night.

The Magic's two top gunners came to life, much as Kobe in Game 1. Lewis (34 points) and Turkoglu (22 points) combined to shoot 9-of-18 from beyond the arc -- the rest of their teammates were a pathetic 1-of-12 -- and Howard (17 points and 16 boards) had more of a presence inside.

The Magic cured their rebounding woes, had more points in the paint, more second-chance points and kept Kobe in relative check. A lead into the final minute of the fourth quarter also looked promising. Lee's looks even more so.

After the Lakers knotted the score at 88 with 33.5 seconds left, the 22nd pick out of Western Kentucky found a seam to the basket late in the shot clock. In the game because Mickael Pietrus fouled out and perhaps a little overanxious, Lee's half-scoop/half-floater was contested by Lamar Odom and drew back iron.

The Lakers set up a final shot for Kobe but after a snazzy block from behind by Turkoglu and an officials conference on how much time was left, Orlando had one last chance with 0.6 on the clock. Orlando did what Denver couldn't do in the West finals by executing a nearly perfect inbound play.

"It was a great pass," Van Gundy said. "It was right there."

Hedo lofted a pass toward the rim, where Lee was waiting after Kobe was back-picked at the foul line. Catching the ball as he went by the backboard, Lee reached back and laid the ball off the glass. Bryant, caught out of position and scrambling back, said his only thought on the sequence was, well, something that can't be written here.

"I was behind the backboard and I saw it roll off," Lee said, with the last few words coming out slowly.

Lee estimates the team practices that particular inbound play three times a week, with various options off the same set. Van Gundy said it was just drawn up in the huddle after the Magic couldn't run their first sideline play and called timeout. In any event, it had the Lakers sweating the action on the rim.

"It was just a brilliant play," Kobe said after scoring 29 in an admittedly uneven performance. "It was just a very, very smart play that he drew up."

There was some question whether Pau Gasol, the Lakers' overtime hero, hit the rim on Lee's final attempt and should have by charged with goaltending. If called, Orlando wins. Lee wasn't sure if Gasol interfered. He just knows he had a win in his hands ... twice.

"Both of them were just about equal good looks," Lee shrugged. "They were right at the rim."

Lee is a long way from that near-empty gym last summer. He's since befriended Kobe and hopes to work out with him this summer.

Until then, Lee and Magic have much to learn.

Art Garcia is covering The NBA Finals for NBA.com. If you have a question or comment, send him an e-mail.