On Monday, the Erie BayHawks added point guard Tyrone Brazelton, a 6-1, 180-pound point guard who averaged 14.4 in his senior season in helping Western Kentucky reach the Sweet 16 in 2008.
Out of Chicago, Brazelton has played professionally in Poland and Latvia. Brazelton was a college teammate of Courtney Lee, who is the NBA with the Houston Rockets.
Courtney Lee knew it. He missed a chance to win Game 2 for the Orlando Magic.
Orlando had a chance.
A great chance.
Rookie guard Courtney Lee’s missed lay in off an alley-oop play could have given the Magic a Game 2 win at the buzzer Sunday night
Instead the Los Angeles Lakers were able to pull out the win in overtime, 101-96, to take a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals in Los Angeles. The Lakers made their final 14 free throws en route to winning Game 2.
With .06 seconds left in regulation, Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu inbounded the ball to Lee on a perfect play call. Rashard Lewis freed up Lee by settting a screen on Kobe Bryant at the foul line.
Lee rolled to the basket and Turkoglu found him at the rim with a lob pass. The pass was slightly off as Lee caught it closer to the backboard than he’d like, but still Lee had a chance to lay the ball in off the glass even with Pau Gasol challenging the shot at the rim.
Game 3 is Tuesday night in Orlando.
Final score: Orlando Magic 99, Cleveland Cavaliers 89
LeBron James scored 41 points, but it wasn't enough as Cleveland lost Game 3 to the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
Analysis: Now down 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals, Cleveland has a major concern. No one other than James is consistently making the perimeter shot. So although he scored a game-high 41 points tonight, James is having to carry the offense, which favors Orlando because no one else is involved in the offense for the Cavs.
The go-getter: Before fouling out, Dwight Howard (Orlando) scored 24 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Known as a poor free-throw shooter, Howard was 14-of-19 from the stripe. He was money late in the game.
The brick-layer: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cleveland) shot a shaky 3-of-10 from the field for nine points. Although he can make the 3, for him to attempt three of them tonight is not good.
The stunning stats: The Cavaliers scored just eight bench points. Orlando reserve Mickael Pietrus had 16 points off the bench by himself for the Magic.
The play: In the first half, Courtney Lee had a open lay-up, but James ran him down and blocked his shot. In the second half, James tried to do the same thing, but the Orlando rookie guard dunked on him.
What’s next: Game 4 Tuesday at Orlando, 8:30 p.m.
What to expect: Cleveland’s biggest dilemma was trying to match up with Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, but the Cavaliers have a greater challenge. If Mo Williams, Delonte West and Sasha Pavlovic don’t make open shots Tuesday, that’s going to put more and more onus on James to carry the offense. As great as James is, he can’t beat the Magic by himself.
