Gasol sparkles in OT as Lakers take 2-0 series lead

LOS ANGELES--The Lakers are halfway to their 15th championship thanks to Pau Gasol's dominance in overtime in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Gasol scored seven of his 24 points in the extra session, powering Los Angeles to a 101-96 victory over Orlando at the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and dished out eight assists, none bigger than one that led to a crucial three-point play by Gasol to cap a seven-point LA run in OT. Lamar Odom tallied 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Lakers, who took the opener, 100-75, on Thursday.

Rashard Lewis poured in 34 points for the Magic, while Hedo Turkoglu added 22 points in defeat. Dwight Howard totaled 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks. Howard also had four steals, but accounted for seven of Orlando's 20 turnovers. That led to 28 Lakers points. The series shifts to Orlando for Game 3 on Tuesday.

The Magic had a chance to pull out the win at the end of regulation. Turkoglu hit a long-range jumper just before the shot clock was to expire, giving Orlando an 88-86 edge with 47.7 seconds left. Gasol then scored inside for the Lakers 14 seconds later, but Courtney Lee missed two crucial shots down the stretch for Orlando. First, he drove past Gasol into the lane with the shot clock running down, but the ball clanked off the back of the rim. Odom got the rebound with 9.1 seconds left, and out of a timeout Bryant drove to the lane, but his shot was blocked from behind by Turkoglu. That gave Orlando the ball back with 0.6 seconds left. Turkoglu then tried an inbounds lob to Lee, who got behind the defense, but the shot didn't fall as time expired. Howard's three-point play gave the Magic a 91-90 lead less than two minutes into OT, but the Lakers came back with the next seven points.