In Orlando, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic 99-86 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win the NBA championship. They defeated the Magic four games to one, which wasn't really as lopsided as the series outcome would suggest. Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher now have four championships with the Lakers, winning their first three in three consecutive years from the 1999-2000 season to the 2001-2002 season. Bryant won the NBA Finals MVP trophy for the first time, averaging over 32 points in the series. The Lakers now have won 15 championships in franchise history, and head coach Phil Jackson has the most championships as a head coach in NBA history with ten.
In Milwaukee, the Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 off of A.J. Pierzynski's RBI single in the ninth inning off of legendary closer Trevor Hoffman. Mark Buehrle of the White Sox pitched six innings and gave up four runs, just like his counterpart Braden Looper of the Brewers. However, Buehrle helped his cause by hitting a home run off of Looper in the third inning. Corey Hart of the Brewers hit two solo home runs, one coming in the fourth inning and the other coming in the sixth inning to tie the game at four. Hoffman came in the ninth to preserve the tie but was unable to do it by allowing two hits and walking a batter, eventually giving up the game-winning run.
The Lakers' win against the Magic was not a testament to the play of the Lakers, but to the mistakes of the Magic. The Magic had a chance to win Game 2 and Game 4, and would be leading the series in that case three games to one. But two missed layups by Courtney Lee prevented a Game 2 victory in Los Angeles and three of four missed free throws from Hedo Turkoglu and several missed free throws from Dwight Howard prevented a Game 4 victory. The Lakers were lucky to have won this championship. They needed to win this championship to prove they were tougher than last season. However, they didn't play a tough team playing the Magic, even though they're solid defensively. The Magic, again, choked their way to an NBA Finals loss just as they did in 1995 against the Houston Rockets. Maybe they don't belong in the NBA Finals.
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