Bryant, Fisher carry Lakers
Los Angeles rallied to tie the game in regulation, then coasted in the extra period for a 3-1 series lead.
ORLANDO - The Los Angeles Lakers seized control of the NBA Finals last night, and they worked overtime to do it.
Kobe Bryant scored 32 points and added eight assists as the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic, 99-91. Los Angeles leads the best-of-seven series, three games to one, with Game 5 set for Sunday night at Orlando's Amway Arena.
In the overtime session, Lakers guard Derek Fisher made a 27-foot three-pointer with 31.3 seconds left to give the Lakers a 94-91 lead.
Pau Gasol followed with a breakaway dunk to put the Magic away.
Fisher made a tying three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 87 and force overtime.
Mickael Pietrus of the Magic missed a jumper as time expired, creating the second overtime game of the series. The Lakers won Game 2, 101-96, on their way to a 2-0 series lead.
Gasol and Trevor Ariza scored 16 points each for the winners. Hedo Turkoglu paced Orlando with 25 points. Dwight Howard added 16 points and 21 rebounds.
Howard blocked nine shots, a Finals record.
It was the first time since 1984 - when the Lakers played Boston - that two games in the Finals went overtime.
Orlando was up by 87-82 with less than a minute to play, but the Magic couldn't put it away at the free-throw line. Gasol's basket cut the lead to two before Fisher's tying three - his first from behind the arc after missing his first five attempts.
Turkoglu had scored 15 points, with 14 rebounds from Howard, as the Magic took a 49-37 halftime lead.
The Magic built their first double-digit lead of the series late in the half, and Howard had as many rebounds as all the Lakers combined and also blocked five shots.
Bryant scored 16 points, but the Lakers were unable to sustain any rhythm because of foul trouble and shot only 33 percent from the field (14 of 42). They missed nine of 10 attempts from three-point range.
Starting center Andrew Bynum and sixth man Lamar Odom each spent the final minutes of the half on the bench with three fouls.
NBA:
NBA FINALS
Lakers 99 Magic 91
Overtime
Lakers lead series, 3-1.
Game 5: Sunday in Orlando,
8 p.m.