Ira Winderman

ORLANDO - Rafer Alston does not come decaffeinated. There is no caffeine-free Skip to My Lou.

Yes, the emotions-on-his-sleeve Magic point guard was certifiably amped in Tuesday's 108-104 Game 3 victory of the NBA finals over the Los Angeles Lakers at Amway Arena, a win that drew Orlando within 2-1 in this best-of-seven series.

But that's also how he is in November against the Los Angeles Clippers or February against the Memphis Grizzlies.

"First cup," he acknowledged just over an hour before tip-off. "Haven't gotten to the second yet."

He paused.

"Think I need a third?"

Understand, eyes were already bulging, left foot pumping, barbs loudly being traded from three lockers down to Dwight Howard.

"No," Alston is told by a bystander, "you look ready."

Ready enough to convert his first five shots and fuel the Magic's 75 percent first-half shooting.

But being who he is, a point guard so on the edge that the Houston Rockets decided at midseason he was not worth the playoff risk, he then missed his next attempt by hitting the side of the backboard.

And no one was surprised.

This is the Alston package, a Skip to my Loon who makes Magic coach Stan Van Gundy look, well, well-adjusted.

"Stan's personality and Rafer's personality are somewhat the same, so they kind of offset each other," Magic general manager Otis Smith said with a coy grin during the Eastern Conference finals.

This time, though, Alston held it together enough to hit a critical late free throw and then provide the assist for the Rashard Lewis jumper that put the Magic ahead 104-101 with 1 minute, 36 seconds to play. (Yes, Alston also missed a critical late free throw, but so did Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant.)

"I was aggressive from start to finish. I was able to mix it up," Alston said, taking pride that he attempted only one 3-point shot. "I was able to get out there tonight, and from start to finish, continue to attack."

In many ways, Alston nonetheless remains what he has been throughout his 10-year NBA career, a man without a country, appreciated for his intensity but questioned for his inconsistency. It is why he has called Milwaukee, Toronto, Miami, Houston and now Orlando home, as well as various minor-league outposts.

He is a rental, likely to be one again.

Tuesday, the rental provided 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and four assists, settling, for one night, the Magic's debate at point guard.

But there, at the start of the fourth quarter, was Jameer Nelson, whose grit in coming back from a midseason shoulder injury had been rewarded with consistent minutes in this series, minutes taken from the allotment Alston previously had received.

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In the Magic's Game 1 loss, the minutes were so evenly split that it led to little more than equal condemnation for both Alston and Nelson. The Magic were rudderless.

In Orlando's Game 2 loss, also at Staples Center, the faith was so limited in Alston and Nelson that the ball was put in the hands of Hedo Turkoglu, as a de facto point forward.

But in Game 3, the former street-baller known for the hop in his dribbling step, was granted center stage, utilized for 37 minutes, including seven in a fourth quarter that kept the Magic's title hopes alive.

"Rafer got off to a good start and played very, very well. Played with great confidence," Van Gundy said. "Rafer has bounced back well in the playoffs before."

So what does this performance mean going forward?

It means the Magic again have stability in its rotation at point guard. There is Alston — and there is Nelson when needed, but only in limited doses.

It means that Van Gundy needed three games to sort the situation out, but still finds himself within a home game of tying the series.

And it means that Alston can get it done on this level, because he got it done Tuesday.

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