After the Lakers pull out the series and win the championship, you can point to this moment as the turning point in the series … book it. Courtney Lee had a chance to get the Magic back in the series and in excellent position to win the title on the final play of regulation in Game 2. With 0.6 seconds left and the score tied, Orlando called the perfect play on the inbounds. Problem is no matter how great of a play you call, you can’t help how it’s executed:
I can’t even imagine how much it must hurt to lose on a shot like that, in a moment where you have the win literally on your finger tips. Lee deflected the blame afterwards saying the team still could have won it in overtime, but you have to take advantage when you have the chance to deliver the knockout punch. And even though the Orlando media’s screaming foul because there should have been a goaltending called on Pau Gasol, it’s about what Lee didn’t do, not what Pau did. Maybe if 1-for-8 Rafer Alston or 2-for-9 A.A. Redick actually made a shot then it wouldn’t have come down to Lee. Still, how can you have that moment literally at your fingertips and blow it like that? This one will hurt for a long time regardless of how resilient Stan Van Gundy says his team is.
