A quick glance at the 2009 Finals would make it look like the Lakers easily handled the Magic, winning the series 4-1. While the Lakers took Game 1 quite easily, if not for a blown wide-open lay-up at the end of the 4th quarter, Game 2 would have went to the Magic. Orlando took Game 3 at home, setting us up for Game 4.
Game 4 saw much of the same back and forth action that the previous two games gave us, with the Magic leading late. After a nifty dime by Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol cut the Magic lead to three. The subsequent possession for Orlando saw Bryant foul Dwight Howard with 11 seconds remaining. Needing just one free throw to make it a four-point game, Howard missed both, setting us up for one of Derek Fisher’s many clutch moments.
Fisher wasn’t done.
In the overtime period, the two teams remained tied when, with 31 seconds remaining, Fisher sealed the deal with another three-pointer, this one coming off a dish from the double-teamed Bryant.
The Lakers would pull out Game 4 and eventually close the series in the following game. But Fisher’s two clutch plays made the title possible, and permanently etched his name in Lakers lore.