SPORTS BETTING

• Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic 9:05 ET

  Posted on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT by North Shore Sports, INC

  
  

  The Orlando Magic (72-32, 61-42-1) made the 2009 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers a series in Game 3 when it won by a 108-104 final count. The Magic would have gotten the cover for their NBA betting backers if they were able to grab one of the four bricks the Lakers tossed up in the closing 25 seconds before ultimately allowing Kobe Bryant to lay in a quick deuce. Rashard Lewis was fouled with three tenths of a second remaining and nailed both free throws to allow the Magic to push the four-point closing spread. The combined 212-points surpassed the 198-point closing ‘total’ with ease.

  Though they lost outright, the Lakers had to be somewhat satisfied with how they played in Game 3. They went into very hostile territory and almost pulled out another outright victory as a road underdog. As a team, they shot 51.3% from the field on 40-of-78 shooting and converted 8 of their 23 shots from beyond the arc (34.8%). Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 31 points and dished out eight dimes. Pau Gasol chimed in with 23 points but only pulled down three boards, which was one of the main reasons LA lost the battle of the boards 29/27. Ten missed free throws, including five by Mr. Bryant, along with 13 turnovers couldn’t have sat well with Head Coach Phil Jackson. No doubt Kobe’s practiced his stroke throughout the off-day, and Phil will have most definitely preached ball security in practice as well.

  The Magic got major contributions from its “Big Three” in Game 3. Hedo Turkoglu scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and dished out seven assists and pulled down six rebounds. Rashard Lewis scored 21 points, which included a 3-of-6 effort from beyond the arc, and had five assists and five rebounds. “Superman” Dwight Howard also scored 21 points, and notched yet another double-double after hauling in a game high 14 rebounds. After getting a tongue lashing from Head Coach Stan Van Gundy, PG Rafer Alston had his best game of the NBA Finals with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Mickael Pietrus played a huge role off the bench and chipped in with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. When it was all said and done, Orlando shot a blistering 62.5% from the field to get themselves back in the basketball betting series.

  Game 4 finds the host Magic installed as short 2-point favorites with the game ‘total’ set at 200.5-points.

  With the Game 3 victory, the Magic are 3-2 SU and 3-1-1 ATS against the Lakers this season. They’re 23-10 SU & 22-11 ATS against non-conference opposition, and they’re 40-11 SU & 29-21-1 ATS within the comfy confines of Amway Arena this season. Orlando is 5-3-1 ATS the six times they were tabbed home favorites in the playoffs to date.

  That said; the Lakers boast tremendous 8-4 SU & 9-2-1 ATS marks when installed underdogs in 2008-09, and the underdog’s proven to be rabid in this series with it biting in seven of the L/9 overall meetings. LA’s 2-2 SU & 2-1-1 ATS as a road underdog in the playoffs. As a road underdog of three-points or less this season, the Lakers went 3-3 SU & 4-2 ATS with this scenario last occurring in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals at Denver; the Lakers won 103-97!

  Can Kobe and the Lakers bounce back from its frustrating Game 3 loss and take a stranglehold of the series, or will Dwight Howard and company really make the NBA Finals interesting and knot the series up? If you’ve got the answers to those questions, login to your Bookmaker Sportsbook account and put your $$$ where your mouth is!!!