Game 4 doesn't even require much analysis, as it felt like I had seen it played before. All game long the Magic were channeling the 2002 Kings, and right there at the end of regulation we got a little throwback to 1995. By the time overtime began, the winner was a foregone conclusion.
In 2002, the Kings played the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals and it went seven games. In Game 7, the Kings were just outright better the whole game except for one thing...outside of Mike Bibby they were visibly over-keyed up, and the team couldn't hit a free throw or 3-pointer all night. Watching that game you just knew that at some point the Kings would blink at a key moment and the Lakers would pull it out, which they did in overtime. Game 4 of this year's Finals played out almost the exact same way, with the Kings...er, I mean the Magic, controlling the action for almost the entire game but continously making the bonehead plays that kept the Lakers in it. Turnovers, poor decisions, missed free throws...you just knew, watching it, that eventually it was going to catch up with them. And, speaking of missed free throws...
How awful does it have to be for Orlando fans to have to re-live the horror of the '95 FInals all over again? In '95, the Magic had a 3-point lead over the Rockets with just seconds left. All they needed was for Nick Anderson to hit ONE of FOUR free throws, and the game is iced. Instead, Anderson missed all four, and savvy point guard Kenny Smith hit a game-tying 3-pointer to send the game into an overtime where the Rockets inevitably won. Neither the Magic nor Anderson ever recovered from that play, and the team was swept while Anderson was never the same. Fast forward to Game 4 this year...the Magic had a 3-point lead over the Lakers with just seconds left. All they needed was for Dwight Howard to hit ONE free throw, and the game is over. Instead, Howard misses them both and savvy point guard Derek Fisher (of course) hits the game-tying 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. At that point the parallels were too strong, and the Magic were doomed.
Huge victory for the Lakers and crushing defeat for the Magic. Barring an epic collapse, series over.
Finally...I tried not to mention it, but I've got to: if the refs are willing to call a loose-ball foul on Jameer Nelson for wrapping Pau Gasol's arm while boxing him out, thus giving the Lakers possession with 30 seconds left, they HAVE to call that offensive foul on Kobe Bryant when he laid Nelson out with an elbow seconds later. Fisher hit two absolute historical dagger treys tonight so all credit to him, but there's no way that's a no-call in that situation. Should have been Magic ball with 30 seconds left in a tie game. It'll be just another footnote in history, but realistically that no-call could have decided this series. Which is a shame.