Magic Point Guards Still Struggling

ORLANDO --The whole idea behind suddenly activating point guard Jameer Nelson after a four-month absence was that maybe he could spark the Orlando Magic to victory at the NBA Finals – rust and all.

The whole idea has failed.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy stayed with Nelson through the entire fourth quarter and overtime Thursday in Game 4, leaving both starter Rafer Alston and regular-season backup Anthony Johnson on the bench.

The Magic lost, 99-91, handing the Lakers the insurmountable 3-1 series advantage. No team in Finals history has won after losing three of the first four.

"I know coach just goes with his feeling, and that's what he wanted to do," said Nelson. "He makes the decision, so I was out there and played as hard as I could.''

Nelson starred against the Lakers during the regular season when he averaged 27 points in a pair of victories. It just hasn't happened in the Finals.

He played 26 minutes Thursday and finished with 2 points and three assists. In the first three games of the Finals, he averaged 17 minutes, four points and 2.3 assists.

Nelson is returning from shoulder surgery that prevented him from playing since Feb. 2.

"I'm not trying to be the savior or anything,'' he said. "I'm just out there playing, and taking what the defense gives me. I'm trying to run the team.''

Alston played well in the first quarter when he hit four of his six shots for nine points, but when he struggled in the second and third quarter, he was replaced and never returned.

"I was ready to go,'' he said after the loss. "I ran through nine hot packs (to keep him warm) but just didn't get the call. That's not my decision. We were right there ready to win, whether I was in the game or not.''

After his fast start, Alston made only one of his last seven shots. Van Gundy, who made the decision to activate Nelson and replace Johnson in the rotation, stuck with his decision.

"I thought we had a very, very bad third quarter, and then it wasn't so much one guy over the other, it was just we had a unit in the fourth that I thought was playing well. Then you get to the point where Rafer hasn't played in 10-12 minutes, I thought it would be hard to bring him back,'' Van Gundy said. "Jameer wasn't doing a whole lot, but he also wasn't hurting us at all.''

Nelson was guarding Lakers guard Derek Fisher down the stretch when he hit the two biggest 3-point shots of the game. Fisher tied the game in regulation with :04.6 remaining and sent the game into overtime. He went off Fisher to double team Kobe Bryant, then got knocked to the floor by Bryant's elbow when Bryant passed to Fisher, who hit the big one in overtime.

"I'm comfortable out there. I wouldn't be out there if I wasn't comfortable,'' Nelson said. "He just shot and made them. We pretty much beat ourselves tonight. I don't have an second thoughts (about coming back). My focus is just on playing as hard as I can."