NBA Finals:

Kobe Bryant scored 40 in their rout of the Magic in Game 1. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

After a great playoffs, the long-awaited Finals are now here!

Game 1: Orlando 75 - Los Angeles 100

Game 2: Orlando 96 - Los Angeles 101  OT

The Los Angeles Lakers are now halfway through their quest for another title with a close win over the underdog Orlando Magic today, following a beatdown in their Finals opener.

Kobe Bryant came out strong in Game 1, and scored 40 points in their drubbing of the Magic. Orlando also shot poorly as a team, making only .299 (23-77) of their shots, with their Big Three of Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, and Dwight Howard combining for only 33 points on 6-27 shooting. Howard only made 1-6 shots - he scored 10 of his 12 points from the line.

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Orlando tried to rebound and get a win at Staples Center, and their Big Three didn’t disappoint: Rashard Lewis had 34 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 points, and Dwight Howard had 17 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks, but 7 turnovers. Unfortunately, their teammates weren’t up to the challenge, shooting only 8-31 from the field. However, they were able to keep Game 2 close, but rookie Courtney Lee wasn’t able to convert a well-designed alley-oop-off-the-inbounds play with 0.6 seconds left in the fourth that would have sealed a win.

Courtney Lee attempts what would have been the game-winner over the outstreched arms of Pau Gasol. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

The Lakers regrouped and were able to pull off an overtime victory behind Pau Gasol’s 7 points in the extra period (Gasol finished with 24). Bryant finished with 29 points, 8 assists and 7 turnovers in Game 2.

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol once again led the Lakers to victory. (AP)

The Magic’s shots kept on rimming out when they needed them most, and coupled with 20 turnovers, they now head to their home court down 0-2. Can the Magic come up with wins to even the series? Or will the Lakers make sure the series won’t go back to Staples Center?

Orlando's Big Three need more support from their teammates than they've had in the first two games. (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Check out the Triangle Offensive podcast’s NBA Finals episode for more on the Finals. We talk about Game 1 (we recorded before the start of Game 2) and our predictions and comments for the series.

We also talk about what the Cavs and Nuggets do next. Then, WNBA, Obama & Rubio! And still much clearer than our first three episodes!

Download Episode 4 of The Triangle Offensive here!

or

Listen to it at The Triangle Offensive’s site!

We sample from some ESPN NBA highlight reels, the NBA on TNT theme, “A New Game” by Tom Hedden, “The Antidote” by Story of the Year, “Bent” by Matchbox 20,and “Almost Perfect” by Ingram Hill. If you are the copyright owner of any of these songs and wish to have your material removed, just comment saying so.