The Magic simply choked down the stretch and played like ass in the second half. The Lakers had Trevor Ariza as their personal savior in the 3rd quarter and then Derek Fisher was his usual self and that’s clutch.

For the record I love Derek Fisher, I can only think of one other Laker that has hit more big shots and that’s Robert Horry. I love how he stood up for Lamar Odom in the Houston series and leveled Luis Scola like he was Ray Lewis on a goal line stand. Dude just plays the game right.

If Mitch Kupchak had any doubts about who he needs to sign first in the off season, it’s Trevor Ariza. For all Lamar Odom’s talents he just doesn’t show up in post season consistently. Lamar Odom is a great fantasy league player, but not a closer or premier player when the pressure is on. Not only does Ariza play hard and hustle, he was hitting all the shots Kobe should have been hitting. Plus he’s extremely versatile on the defensive end. He would look good in a Magic uniform.

In the end the pressure got to the Magic. I’m still shaking my head wondering how and why Hedo Turkoglu missed 3 out 4 free throws. All Dwight Howard had to do was knock down 1 out of 2 to make it a 4 point game. The Lakers did a great job of denying the Hedo ball at the end too, which forced the Magic to give it up to Dwight Howard in the paint and the Lakers hammered him. Nothing fancy about it, I’m guessing Kurt Rambis drew those plays up.

The series isn’t over, but the fat chick is stretching out. Anything can happen, but beating the Lakers three times in a row is asking a lot for any team that has ever played the game. I’d like to say play hard and make the series respectable, but nobody cares who comes in 2nd place.