12 June,2009 10:49 AM IST | | AFP
Kobe Bryant scored 32 points and Derek Fisher made clutch late three-pointers Thursday to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 99-91 overtime victory over Orlando in game four of the NBA finals.
Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol each added 16 points for the Lakers, who are on the brink of winning the 15th championship in franchise history after losing to Boston in six games in last year's finals.
The Lakers lead the best-of-seven series three games to one and can claim the title by winning game five here on Friday. Games six and seven, if necessary, would be played next week in Los Angeles.
Fisher nailed a three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime, then hit another dagger with 31 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Lakers the lead for good.
"(Jameer) Nelson gave me a lot of space and I like to step into those threes," Fisher said.
On the first three-pointer, Fisher had plenty of time to shoot over Nelson and on the second in overtime, he took a pass from Bryant.
"Late in the game I kept getting the ball too far away from the basket," Bryant said. "Fish was wide open."
Hedo Turkoglu collected 25 points while Dwight Howard had 16 points, 21 rebounds and nine blocked shots but committed seven turnovers for the Magic, who are in danger of having their dream season spoiled at home.
"It is a tough loss," Turkoglu said. "We had it but we let it slip away."
The Lakers are in the finals for the 30th time while the Magic are making just their second appearance in 14 years.
The Lakers shot 75 percent from the free throw line and rallied from a 12-point half-time deficit.
"We came out of the locker room with determination," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We got hamstrung a bit in the first half. Fish made a tremendous shot, a big shot to tie the game and give us momentum to win that overtime game."
Los Angeles is now a perfect 7-0 in the post-season when coming off a loss.
