ShareThisHo hum or uh-oh?
Over the next couple of days, the Los Angeles Lakers' consciousness likely will waver somewhere in between the two.
Was the loss to Orlando on Tuesday night just an expected and predictable detour on the road to an inevitable Lakers' championship?
Or did the Magic really turn this thing into a competitive series with its gutty 108-104 victory at Amway Arena?
With everything on its side -- familiar surroundings, generous support from a suitably noisy crowd, and an opponent fat with a two-game lead -- the desperate Magic outlasted the Lakers down the stretch to add a little spice to the Finals.
The Lakers lost, but weren't disheartened.
They weathered Orlando's "A" offense, an eye-popping 62.5 percent shooting night. They weathered the hostile atmosphere, after quickly adjusting from the happy glitz at Staples Center. They weathered the muggy weather.
And they came back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter, with a chance to tie or go ahead in the final minute.
"They shot the heck out of the ball, and it's a one-possession game at the end," said Lakers reserve guard Jordan Farmar.
The Lakers might say Game 3 was such an aberration that even Kobe Bryant looked mortal at the end when he usually saves the day. In succession, their superstar missed a big three-point shot, then a crucial foul shot, then -- rub your eyes -- turned the ball over down the stretch to scuttle the Lakers' attempt to go up 3-0.
Should the Lakers be disheartened? No. But wary? Absolutely.
Three-0 is so much different than 2-1, but you couldn't tell by the Lakers' response.
"It's different, but we're still a confident team," said forward Trevor Ariza. "We feel we still have control of the series."
If a win sometimes turns into a momentum swing into a series getting away, the Lakers aren't acknowledging the possibility. It's not the way they're built.
"You're talking to a confident group in here," Lamar Odom said. "We played every game this year to win. We tried to go 82-0. We feel like we just ran out of time at the end, like if there was another two minutes, we'd have won."
They didn't, though, and they may regret letting the Magic wiggle off the hook. For a team full of players new to the Finals, it does have a certain something -- something good enough to knock off Cleveland and win a Game 7 in Boston.
Composure. Poise. Whatever. And they've got the next two games on the same parquet floor, a pattern that rarely brings out the best in the Lakers.
"Believe it or not, the locker (room) is pretty much the same as it was after both losses," said Magic guard Rafer Alston. "We don't hang our heads. The locker room obviously is happier because of the victory, but we understand it's another must-win game Thursday."
Bryant was the only one who bothered to acknowledge the team down the hall, instead of talking up his own posse.
"This was a tough loss for us," said Bryant, recognizing the scoreboard and not taking the almost-got-them tact. "This is a team that's been through some adverse situations. This is a tough team, not a cupcake team ... we've got our work cut out."
The Lakers, essentially, came to Orlando with a week to win one game and go home, at worst, with two chances to claim a title on their home floor.
Feeling a little squeezed would be a good thing.
(Contact Gregg Patton at gpatton(at)PE.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
