:
All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given. Game 1 After an evenly battled first quarter, the Magic took the lead thanks to field goals and assists from point guard
Jameer Nelson, who was playing his first game since injuring his shoulder during the regular season in February. Down 33–28 with 8:38 left in the 2nd quarter, the Lakers went on a 10–0 run and never looked back. The Lakers ended the 3rd quarter on a 25–10 run, led by the fierce play from
Kobe Bryant, who finished with 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, joining the likes of
Shaquille O'Neal,
Michael Jordan, and
Jerry West to put up those numbers in a single NBA Finals game. The 25-point margin of victory was the 6th-largest in NBA Finals Game 1 history. Due to stellar defense by the Lakers, Dwight Howard was a dismal 1–6 from the field, his fewest made field goals in his playoff career, and finished with 12 points, 10 of which came from free throws. The Magic shot only 29.9% (23–77) from the field, the second lowest percentage in the NBA Finals.
Game 2 Both teams got off to a slow start and were tied at 15 after the first quarter, setting a record-low for combined score (30) in the first quarter of an NBA Finals game. The Lakers picked up the pace in the 2nd quarter, but
Rashard Lewis kept the Magic in the game, scoring 18 of the team's 20 points in the quarter, including the final 16, on his way to a playoff career-high and Finals franchise-high 34 points for the game. The Magic outscored the Lakers in the 3rd quarter to take a 2-point lead in the 4th. With the game tied at 84, Rashard Lewis hit a jumper with 1:32 remaining to give the Magic a 2-point lead. Kobe Bryant responded with a jumper of his own to tie the game. With 47 seconds left,
Hedo Türkoğlu hit a jumper that was originally called a three-pointer. However, replay showed that his foot was on the line, giving the Magic a two-point lead. With 33 seconds remaining,
Dwight Howard was able to deflect, but not steal, a
Derek Fisher pass, and
Pau Gasol was able to again tie the game at 88 with a layup. On the ensuing Magic possession, the Lakers played great defense and forced
Courtney Lee to miss an awkward layup shot with 10.5 seconds left. With a chance to take a 2–0 series lead, Kobe Bryant was blocked on a jumper by Türkoğlu, who gained control of the ball and called time-out with 0.6 seconds left. After another timeout, Türkoğlu threw a half-court lob to Courtney Lee, who had come free after a screen on his defender. However, Lee was traveling too fast and launched his layup from almost behind the backboard, causing it to miss. With the Lakers up 1 in overtime with 1:55 left, Derek Fisher stole a
JJ Redick pass and was fouled on the ensuing fast break, making both free throws. After the Magic were unable to convert, Kobe Bryant made a pivotal assist to Pau Gasol for a layup-and-one, giving the Lakers a 6-point lead and the eventual victory.
Game 3 The Magic came out in Game 3 with fire. The Magic shot a field goal percentage of 63% for the game, a Finals record. This also included a 75% first quarter, also a Finals record. However, despite the incredible shooting percentage, the Lakers managed to stay close for much of the game. The game was only sealed for the Magic on a Mickaël Piétrus steal from Kobe Bryant in the waning minute of the 4th quarter. This win marked the first Finals win in Magic franchise history, losing their first 6 Finals games (being swept in their
first appearance and losing Games 1 and 2)
Game 4 Coming off their franchise's first NBA Finals game victory, the Magic quickly took the lead in the first quarter. However,
Kobe Bryant kept the Lakers in the game, scoring 13 of the team's 20 first-quarter points.
Dwight Howard played a great first quarter, with 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in the opening frame. In addition, he drew many fouls, putting
Andrew Bynum,
Pau Gasol, and
Lamar Odom in foul trouble and forcing Lakers coach
Phil Jackson to use
Josh Powell and
D. J. Mbenga early in the game. The Magic were able to increase the lead to 12 at halftime. The Lakers came out of the locker room aggressive and outscored the Magic 30–14 in the 3rd quarter, led by
Trevor Ariza, who scored 13 points in the quarter, including two three-pointers. Down by six in the opening minutes of the 4th quarter, the Magic took a 76–75 lead halfway through the quarter, but were unable to increase the lead due to poor free-throw shooting, specifically from
Hedo Türkoğlu and
Dwight Howard. With 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter and the game tied at 79, Howard converted a three-point play to give the Magic an 82–79 lead. On the next Laker possession, the Magic played good defense, but Trevor Ariza was able to hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 82. After Hedo Türkoğlu hit a stepback 3-point shot, Howard blocked Gasol's jumper, giving him a single-game NBA Finals record with 9 blocked shots. On the bench to witness it was a previous record holder, his assistant coach
Patrick Ewing, who had 8 in Game 5 of the
1994 NBA Finals while with the
New York Knicks. Türkoğlu made another jumper with 1:34 remaining to give the Magic a five-point lead. Down 87–82 with 31 seconds left,
Kobe Bryant spun through the lane and passed to Gasol for a dunk to cut the lead to three. On the next Magic possession, Howard was fouled by Bryant with 11 seconds remaining. Needing just one free-throw to make the game a 2-possession affair, Howard missed both shots. Out of the timeout, the Lakers elected to take the ball out at three-quarters court instead of half-court in order to space out the floor. The Magic double-teamed Bryant in the backcourt, allowing him to pass the ball up to Ariza, who in turned passed it to
Derek Fisher on the right wing. Having missed his first five three-point shots of the game, Fisher spotted up and hit a pivotal three-pointer over Jameer Nelson to tie the game at 87 with 4.6 seconds left. On the final possession of regulation,
Mickaël Piétrus missed a 20-footer. The overtime session began with a three-pointer by
Rashard Lewis and two contested jumpers by
Kobe Bryant to give the Lakers a 91–90 lead. With 1:27 left in overtime, Howard split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 91. On the next possession, the Lakers would miss a layup and a jumper, but regained possession on an offensive rebound by Ariza and a loose-ball foul on
Jameer Nelson. With 31 seconds left, Kobe Bryant passed out of a double-team with the controversy of no called after Jameer Nelson got hit by Kobe Elbow as Fisher hit a three-pointer to give the Lakers a 94–91 lead. Out of a timeout, Türkoğlu rushed a three-point shot and missed. Rashard Lewis backtapped the rebound to center court, but the ball went to Pau Gasol, who ran in unimpeded for a dunk, giving the Lakers the lead for good. In the next possession, the Magic missed another shot, bouncing the ball to Fisher, who passed it to Ariza, then to Gasol for a dunk, but Pietrus slammed both arms on his back, resulting in Gasol getting a technical foul and Pietrus a flagrant-1 foul. Upon the finish of the game,
Oasis' "
Don't Look Back in Anger" was played over the P.A. system at Amway Arena.
Game 5 The Magic, facing the prospect of the Lakers winning a championship on their home floor, came out with a good start, leading by as much as 9 in the first quarter. In the opening frame, all 5 starters scored and assisted on at least one field goal, but the Lakers pulled within two at the quarter break. Down 40–36 with 7:11 in the 2nd quarter, the Lakers went on a 16–0 run, fueled by two 3-pointers and solid defensive play from
Trevor Ariza. The Lakers led by as much as 12 in the 2nd quarter and the score was 56–46 at halftime. Coming out of the half, Orlando cut the lead to 5 with 7:45 remaining in the 3rd on a three-pointer by
Rafer Alston.
Lamar Odom answered with back-to-back three-pointers to restore the Laker lead to double digits. Leading by as much as 18 in the half, Los Angeles led by 15 going into the 4th quarter. In the final quarter, Orlando attempted a run but managed to cut the lead down to only 12; at the buzzer, the Lakers celebrated their 15th title. Following the game, NBA commissioner
David Stern presented the Lakers with the
Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy and presented
Kobe Bryant with the
Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Trophy during a presentation on center court at
Amway Arena. Bryant averaged 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game during the series. ==Statistics==