2008-09 NBA CHAMPIONS

Scores

GAME 1: at Lakers 100, Magic 75

GAME 2: at Lakers 101, Magic 96 (OT)

GAME 3: at Magic 108, Lakers 104

GAME 4: Lakers 99, at Magic 91 (OT)

GAME 5: Lakers 99, at Magic 86

Ebb and flow

No one was banking on the Magic getting in the way of an NBA Finals matching Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

With ads showcasing puppets of the league’s top two players even through the Finals, the Magic dealt with the question of whether it deserved to be there . . . even if Orlando had unseated Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland on the way.

The Lakers’ Game 1 victory appeared to answer that question, with Bryant scoring 40 points, Orlando shooting 29.9% and Magic center Dwight Howard mustering only one field goal. But in a Game 2 that featured 23 lead changes and 21 ties, the series could have been tied if Courtney Lee’s layup attempt off a lob pass from Hedo Turkoglu had fallen in as regulation time expired.

In Game 3, the Magic shot a Finals-record 62.5% from the field, and Bryant made only 11 of 25 shots and five of 10 free throws as the Magic got back in the series. The Magic failed to take advantage of another opportunity in Game 4, allowing Derek Fisher to shoot a three-pointer near the end of regulation and another in the final minute of overtime to fall behind in the series, 3-1.

Had one missed layup been converted and Jameer Nelson played adequate defense on Fisher, the Magic would have had the two-game lead in the series.

Game 5 was no contest from the second quarter on. The Lakers are the 2009 NBA champions.

Star watch

Howard, who had averaged 21.5 points in two victories over the Lakers in the regular season, never really got on track. He missed two free throws in Game 4 that would have virtually ensured a Magic victory.

Nelson, who hadn’t played since February because of a shoulder injury, returned for the Finals but was nowhere near the player he had been in the regular season. He averaged only 3.8 points in 18 minutes.

Bryant and Pau Gasol, on the other hand, were productive throughout the series.

Who knew?

Fisher became a lightning rod for criticism in the playoffs, shooting only 27.1% from three-point range heading into Game 4.

But teammates recognized his leadership and on-court presence.

After missing his first five three-point shots in Game 4, he made the baskets that counted and rekindled memories of his game-winning shot with 0.4 of a second left in the 2004 conference semifinals in San Antonio. His three-pointer with 4.6 seconds remaining in regulation instantly became one of the greatest in Lakers history. His second three-pointer with 31.3 seconds left clinched the Lakers’ victory.

By the numbers

LAKERS:

Kobe Bryant: 32.4 points

7.4 assists

Pau Gasol: 18.6 points

9.2 rebounds

MAGIC:

Hedo Turkoglu: 18 points

3.8 assists

Rashard Lewis: 17.4 points

4.0 assists

Lasting impression

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson has routinely said he sees “the journey” to the NBA championship more important than the actual accomplishment.

But it’s hard not to recognize the historical significance the 2009 title holds for the Lakers, the franchise’s 15th and the 10th in L.A. The Lakers last won a championship in 2002 and lost in the Finals in 2004 to the Detroit Pistons and last year to the Boston Celtics.

Jackson earned his 10th NBA championship as a coach and passed Red Auerbach. Bryant and Fisher collected their fourth rings, their first without Shaquille O’Neal. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza won their first titles.

Can the Lakers start another dynasty? Jackson has one more year on his contract, Bryant can opt of his this summer and Odom and Ariza are potential free agents. That answer will be determined eventually.

For now, the Lakers will celebrate their championship today at their victory parade.

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mark.medina@latimes.com