The hardest part of being a basketball fan, or really a fan of any sport is, paradoxically, the same thing that makes it so great. The seconds seem like hours, the hours seem like months, and you watch every moment of every game turn from what they are, individual fragments of time, into something far greater than any one instant should ever be allowed to be. We love it for that; we loathe it for that, and we keep coming back to it because we all hate ourselves in some glorious way.

In the end, that's all any sport is: a series of moments spun together, and in the last 17 minutes of this game, those moments spun into something majestic, and I would've said that whether the outcome had been different or not.

The inescapable truth here is that neither of these teams is willing to roll over, and that's an incredible thing to watch as a fan of the Magic or as a fan of basketball. Orlando could've rolled over down 16 in game 1 to a team that hadn't lost in the playoffs. They didn't. Cleveland could've rolled over after getting punched in the mouth in game 1. They didn't. Orlando could've rolled over after Lebron hit the miracle 3 to win game 2. They didn't. Cleveland could've rolled over.....well, you get the idea.

In the end, we have a heavyweight fight; the unapologetically BEST teams in the East trading haymaker for haymaker. That's been the case for an entire 4 game series so far, and amazingly, transcendentally, it's become a more intense version of that in the end of these games. Big shots answered by big shots. Clutch play answered with clutch play. In the end, when you have a situation like that, it turns into a battle of wills. And anyone who's ever been involved in a battle of wills can tell you that luck has a lot to do with the outcome.

It's fitting then that the most obvious battle of wills in the game came down to the two superstars; the MVP with the ball, trying to score, trying to give his team a chance, going up against the DPOY, trying to hold his team's lead. In the end, it was a picture perfect block by Dwight Howard, but the truth is it could've gone so many other ways. It could've been a foul, he could've gotten the shot off, or any other number of other things, and that's what makes NBA basketball such a beautiful, horrifying thing. It came down to a crash between skill, skill, chance and fate. This was the outcome, don't ask me how.

The word 'resilient' has been tossed around like it was worthless the last few weeks when it comes to the Magic, and I don't have the vocabulary to avoid abusing it some more. The Magic once again dug themselves a hole in the first half before finding life in the second. Once again it came down to the wire. Once again it came down to digging deep when every one was exhausted.

Rafer Alston deserves every ounce of credit he'll get for this game. In the first half, with the exception of Dwight's play in the first, the team looked slow, sloppy, and disinterested. And there was Rafer Alston, a legendary playoff choke artist, nailing big 3 after big 3 to keep the Magic in it after they didn't deserve to be. The offense was slow and sloppy. Shots were forced. Dribbles were picked up prematurely. Passes were thrown to no one in particular. Several layups were blown. Free throws were missed by seemingly everyone except, bizarrely, Dwight Howard.

And then there was the defense. Dwight was looking disinterested at best on defense, and seemed terrified of fouling. Pietrus was doing everything he could on Lebron and getting no help. Rashard refused to rotate away from the ball, and got taken by Wally Szczerbiak of all people. Hedo couldn't find Delonte West away from the ball with both hands and a flashlight.

And there was Rafer with another big play. That the game was only an 8 point Cavs lead at halftime was huge. It should've been more. Everyone watching the game knew it should've been more. When you give someone a glimmer of hope in darkness, they'll latch onto it with every ounce of themselves. That was me at halftime: "We're only down 8! It's not too bad!" And in no way should I have been, but I was right.

Rafer again stormed out, and scored repeatedly to open the 3rd, and the lead was cut again. Back and forth, back and forth, the first 17 minutes of the second half feels like a blur I'm having to replay in my mind in fast motion. Punch for punch, blow for blow. The Magic settling for far too many jump shots; the Cavs not able to get the knockout blow they needed. In the end of regulation, luck came to rear its head again.

After that missed 3 with 7 seconds left, so many things could've happened. Foul on Dwight. Delonte gets the rebound cleanly. Dwight doesn't play on it as strong. It goes out on Dwight. So many things. In the end, we got one more shot that we probably didn't deserve. And there was Rashard Lewis, who hadn't been able to hit water from a boat in the rain hitting a turnaround 3 off the inbounds to put Orlando up 2.

When Cleveland got the ball back, everyone knew who was getting the ball. I don't know what to write about that call.

Yes I do. It was crap. Two players bumping knees on a drive isn't a foul. Not at the end of a playoff game. Not at the beginning of a playoff game. Not at the beginning of ANY game. That was a terrible call, and it tainted what was, beyond that, the best officiated game of the series. Mistakes had been minimal, with one notable exception I'll address at the end, and the refs had, correctly, let them play.

The call at the other end, after Lebron tied it at the line, was correct. Varejao and Dwight were practicing their jiu-jitsu under the basket, and neither one didn't commit a foul, so they let it go. I can dig that, particularly since that play apparently galvanized Dwight.

Dwight finally woke back up in overtime, and proved why he's the best big man in the league. He stopped asking, and started taking. 10 points in overtime for Dwight, including some clutch FT shooting. 7 of 9 for the game is solid for any player. For a guy who shot 59% in the season? Hitting 2 FTs that might very well have won his team the game by helping secure a lead in OT? In a Conference Finals game? Welcome to the big time, Dwight. It's sunnier here.

All that lead down to the aforementioned battle of wills: MVP vs DPOY. The block that saved the game. Lebron got one last chance to win it from half court, and it just missed. For it to have done the game justice, it had to either go in or just miss going in. And that's what we got.

Transcendant finish. Magic up 3-1, 1 win from the NBA Finals.

God help me, I love this game.

Note: I want to address the taunting tech for 2 seconds. It would be easy just to swear a lot here, but the truth is that if THAT is a taunting tech, then no player in the NBA should be without 12 technicals a game. That was completely asinine, and a disgrace. Yelling "Wooo" and pumping your fist is taunting in the same way that saying "2+2=4" is rocket science. If that call isn't rescinded by noon tomorrow, Stu Jackson needs to be electroshocked for his own good, and for the league's. Sheesh.

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