When the Orlando Magic were in their first NBA Finals playing the Houston Rockets who were the defending champions of the NBA in 1995... The Magic's three point assassin Nick Anderson only needed one free throw with eleven seconds left to win Game 1 and he clanked them both which led to the sweep by the Rockets. Now he has some company in that group as Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkolgu both missed late free throws were they blew a five point lead in the last thirty seconds allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to force overtime.
Howard had a great game with sixteen points, twenty-one rebounds, and nine blocks. The other thing we all know that Howard is like Baby Shaq when it comes to shooting free throws but nonetheless he needed to make that free throw to win the game for the Magic. He will now be known for his poor free-throw shooting until he finds a way to fix it because teams will continue to exploit him. As I said in an article about Lazar Hayward's misstep in the NCAA will be remembered all this year; Howard's missed free throws will be shown time in and time out this upcoming year.
This was an absolutely crushing loss for the Magic and I dont really believe that they can recover from this train wreck. There is no reason why they shouldnt have lost game four and we should be heading to a pivotal game five. Instead Derek Fisher showed why he is the man in the late quarters from time in and time out. I really have a tough time seeing this young Magic team recovering from this loss to come back to win in game five. Orlando shot sixty-two percent in game three and only won by four points. Its over. The Lakers have them on their heels and are ready to deliver the knockout punch.
-Charlie.
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