Michael Ventre

LOS ANGELES - The Lakers weren’t dreadful. They were simply — by their standards, at least — ordinary.

The Magic weren’t awe-inspiring. Yet they were much, much improved over their Game 1 performance.

And yet, after the Lakers clawed their way to a 101-96 overtime victory over Orlando in Game 2 of these 2009 NBA Finals on Sunday night in Staples Center, what lingered is a nagging sense that Los Angeles cranked up some old Pat Benatar and sang along to “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” the Magic complied, and it still wasn’t enough.

The makes the Magic’s prospects of winning this series grim, and the Lakers’ chances of atoning for last year’s disappointment as bright as bling.

“We wanted to win this game to keep the pressure on,” the Lakers’ Lamar Odom said.

Orlando’s “best shot” doesn’t mean it was a near flawless performance. After all, the Magic players undermined themselves by committing 20 turnovers. And even though it seemed as if they antagonized the Lakers from the 3-point line, the truth is they only converted on 33 percent, down from 36 percent in the playoffs before Sunday’s game. They just got off 30 attempts, and Rashard Lewis was especially hot from the arc, nailing 6 of 12 en route to 34 points.

No, this was one of those psychological will-breakers. The Magic had one in its grasp that could have altered the entire personality of the series. Orlando could have gained a split, then would have gone to Florida with three straight games at home. Instead, because it failed to convert an open alley-oop at the end of regulation when rookie Courtney Lee missed, and then it went on to falter in overtime, the Magic is already facing a do-or-die game:

Slideshow   Celebs shine at the NBA playoffs A look at the many celebrities who have made appearances during this year's NBA playoffs. more photos

Win Game 3 on Tuesday and extend the series. Lose Tuesday and begin the locker-cleaning process.

“You know, series can change,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “You’ve got to take it one game at a time. Right now it’s extremely frustrating not to have gotten the win tonight because I thought we fought hard. I didn’t think we played great, again because we had 20 turnovers, but we fought hard. We had chances to win. We didn’t get it done.

“We’ve got to go home and play a great game in Game 3 and get the win.”

The way these series usually play out, he may get his wish in Game 3.

The Lakers seemed physically spent after the game, especially Odom, who played almost 46 minutes; Kobe Bryant, who played more than 48 minutes; and Derek Fisher, who played 41. They have to make the cross-country trek to Orlando and be ready to play Tuesday night; the Magic will have to endure the same journey, of course, but it’s a little easier on the psyche when you know you’re going home.

So it’s certainly conceivable that the Magic can stave off disaster and succeed Tuesday night. But what then?

Theoretically, all the Lakers have to do is win one of the three in Orlando, and then return to L.A. with two chances to wrap up the series. Realistically, they can probably take two of the three in Orlando and then fly home as champions.

The Lakers may indeed fall in Game 3 to a desperate Magic team playing before an energized crowd. But eventually, the Lakers will hit the Magic with their best shot, and then Disneyland will be a much happier place than Disney World.

Slideshow   A Tinseltown NBA finals Take a visual tour of the celebration of the Lakers’ NBA championship, plus images from the five-game win over the Magic. NBCSports.com

On Sunday, Bryant had a solid game with 29 points along with eight assists and four rebounds. But he failed to hit a driving jumper in the lane at the end of regulation that would have won the contest. He committed seven of the Lakers’ 12 turnovers. And he wasn’t quite himself in that Black Mamba, no mercy, Doberman-toothed way.

“I didn’t think Kobe had a good game at all as far as his standards go,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “They double-teamed him, they trapped him, they came on all his drives, and we didn’t adjust to it immediately.”