ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -Orlando Magic guard Courtney Lee hasn’t been able to get his missed alley-oop attempt at the regulation buzzer in Game 2 of the NBA finals out of his head.
The rookie from Western Kentucky said the best way he could think of to try to forget the potential game-winner was to watch it over and over and move on.
“When I was at home, I was just beating myself up a little bit,” Lee said Tuesday before Game 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers. “But then when I got in here (Tuesday), my teammates were picking me up a little bit. That was my main goal, to just get it out of my head.”
The Magic had the ball on the sideline with the game tied at 88 and 0.6 seconds left Sunday night in Los Angeles. Rashard Lewis set a pick on Kobe Bryant that freed Lee to cut to the basket, and Hedo Turkoglu lofted a pass that led Lee right under the hoop. The Magic lost in overtime and fell to 0-2 in the best-of-seven series.
that, according to the strictest interpretation of the rules, goaltending should have been called on Pau Gasol of the Lakers on the play. Gasol’s right hand grazed the net and his fingers banged into the rim.
Jackson called the rule “kind of archaic” and said while the call should have been made, it didn’t effect the shot.
The play joined Nick Anderson’s four missed free throws from the 1995 finals as the most heartbreaking moments in franchise history. Lee said the replays didn’t necessarily make him feel any better about the miss but that it did allow him to put it in his past.
“During the game, I felt like I had a good look,” Lee said. “Seeing how I missed it, I was floating under the basket, just watching it over, it helps me get over it.”
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LITTLE BIG MEN: Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar longs for the days when NBA big men worked on their drop step, pivot play and inside moves.
Maybe even a Skyhook or two.
In recent years, Abdul-Jabbar, the most prolific scorer in league history, has seen young frontline players who wish they were dribbling in the backcourt.
“Everybody wants to shoot the 3-pointer,” the Los Angeles Lakers legend said. “It’s like Lotto fever. They all want to be 7-foot point guards.”
ndrew Bynum, helping them develop their interior games. Gasol came to L.A. with a polished repertoire as international veteran while Bynum, who joined the league out of high school, was raw.
The 21-year-old Bynum has been Abdul-Jabbar’s pet project and the extra work has been paying off. Bynum, who missed the finals last season after being sidelined by a knee injury, entered Game 3 averaging 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in the first two games.
“He’s coming along,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “Andrew’s confidence is growing and he’s just starting to tap into his potential.”
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TEAMING UP: The joint youth initiative between the NBA and NCAA will be called iHoops.
The partners unveiled the name Tuesday during a news conference before Game 3 of the NBA finals. In attendance were NBA commissioner David Stern, Duke and U.S. Olumpic coach Mike Krzyzewski and iHoops CEO Kevin Weiberg.
The initiative, designed to provide support services and programs to youth basketball players ages 6 to 18, as well as their parents, coaches and other team officials, has Nike and adidas as founding partners.
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RETIRING REFS: Jack Nies, who officiated 10 NBA finals games, is among three referees who are retiring from the league.
Jim Clark and Luis Grillo, who both officiated for 21 years, are also leaving at the end of the season, the National Basketball Referees Association announced.
Nies was an official for 31 seasons and is one of only six referees who officiated 2,000 regular-season games. He worked 150 more in the postseason and two All-Star games.
Clark worked 96 playoff games, one in the finals, and 1,345 in the regular season. He worked the 2003 All-Star game with Grillo, who officiated 1,171 games in the regular season and 41 in the postseason.
“The NBRA and the NBA are losing three great officials,” NBRA spokesman Lamell McMorris said in a statement. “They have served the basketball community graciously over their careers and we wish them the all the best.”
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QUICK HITS: Security was so tight at Amway Arena that Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was stopped by guards at the team entrance. The former Lakers center, wearing a Dodgers cap and blue dress shirt, was screened by security with wands, which other celebrities also endure as standard procedure. … Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash was at the arena as a member of the media, doing reports for CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman. … It was only the second time – and first in 14 years – that Orlando hosted the NBA finals.
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers, and AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.
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