NBA Finals Game 3 - Magic try to solve the Lakers

Those doing any NBA betting on the Orlando Magic on Sunday night had to be happy with the outcome, as Dwight Howard and company managed to cover the posted spread on the road. However, Magic fans themselves weren’t satisfied with the result, as Orlando now finds itself down 2-0 in the NBA Finals after that 101-96 overtime loss.

Magic rookie guard Courtney Lee had a chance to win Game 2 late in regulation time on Sunday, but botched an alley-oop attempt. Orlando had come back from a halftime deficit to take the lead heading into the fourth quarter, but Lee’s miss sent the game into overtime – where the Lakers went on a 13-8 run to sweep the first two games at home.

Kobe Bryant had a team-high 29 points for Los Angeles in their Game 2 win, while Pau Gasol added 24 points and 10 rebounds. Lamar Odom was effective for the Lakers off the bench, tossing in 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting and adding eight boards. Derek Fisher was good for 12 points in the contest, while Trevor Ariza contributed eight points.

Rashard Lewis led the way for the Magic with 34 points, albeit on 12-of-21 shooting. Lewis also picked up 11 rebounds in the contest, while Howard grabbed 16 boards to go along with his 17 points. Hedo Turkoglu contributed 22 points for Orlando in a losing cause, and Lee had just two points en route to becoming a popular YouTube download.

Despite the loss, the Magic can take some solace in the fact that they improved on their Game 1 performance – Orlando was blown out 100-75 in the opener last Thursday night. Los Angeles had been favored by 6 points at home in that contest, and had no trouble covering the listed spread. Both games so far in the series have been UNDERS.

The series now shifts to Orlando for Game 3 on Tuesday night, with the Magic listed as 4-point home favorites on the BetUS NBA lines. Orlando is also pegged at -190 on the game’s moneyline, with Los Angeles the +160 underdog. The oddsmakers have set the total for the game at 198 points. The 2-0 series lead has Los Angeles listed as the clear -800 favorite to win the Finals, while Orlando has fallen to a +500 underdog on that line.

Both the Magic and Lakers still have clean injury reports heading into Tuesday night, with Orlando having the services of guard Jameer Nelson once again on Sunday. Nelson played just over 16 minutes off the bench in Game 2, contributing four points and one assist. Nelson was used for 23 minutes in Game 1, when he scored six points.

Nelson was a big contributor in Orlando’s home win over Los Angeles during the regular season, pouring in a team-high 27 points in the 106-103 victory on December 20. The Magic were actually 1.5-point home underdogs in that game, which was an OVER result. Lewis had 22 points for Orlando in that contest, while Bryant poured in 41 points.

Tipoff for Game 3 is set for 9:00pm ET on Tuesday night. Game 4 will be played at the same time in Orlando on Thursday night, and if the Magic manage to pick up a win in one of those games they’ll also host Game 5 at 8:00pm ET on Sunday. Games 6 and 7 would be played back in Los Angeles on June 16 and 18. Check the BetUS NBA odds section for the latest lines, moneylines, totals, and series prices for the ’09 NBA Finals.