Originally Published: June 11, 2009

Will Orlando have magic touch in Gm 4?

To even up the NBA Finals, Magic must go to their bread and butter: 3s and dunks

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Hollinger By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
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ORLANDO -- In the past 48 hours, we've broken down Game 3 of the NBA Finals in all kinds of ways. But amazingly, we haven't really talked too much about that giant purple elephant sitting in the corner: The Orlando Magic shot an NBA Finals-record 62.5 percent from the field.

Short shots, long shots, the Magic made all kinds. They mostly abandoned their 3-point game, taking only 14 shots from downtown, and instead shot an amazing 70 percent on 2-pointers. And another part of their offense was equally effective -- Orlando earned 30 free throws on only 64 shot attempts and converted 23 of them. Overall, the Magic got 108 points from the equivalent of 79 shot attempts, for a 68.4 true shooting percentage.

Any way you want to slice it, they sliced up the Lakers, and the only reason the carnage wasn't worse was because L.A. did a decent job on the defensive boards.

Certainly, the Magic made some unlikely shots. Mickael Pietrus with a contested fade from 17? Rashard Lewis on a twisting banker in the lane? Tony Battie picking up a rolling loose ball and draining a J from 18? Those were the types of shots finding the net for Orlando in Game 3.

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