LOS ANGELES – Rafer Alston(notes) stood in front of his locker, neatly dressed in a crisp white suit. He was cool, he said. No reason to complain. No reason to march up to his coach and ask for his minutes back. He'd have to adjust, but he's built a career out of adjusting.

Sitting one locker over, to the left, was Jameer Nelson(notes). A couple of ice bags were taped to his right shoulder. He had just played 23 minutes in the opening game of the NBA Finals, which were about 23 more than anyone had expected him to play five days ago. He said he felt good, aside, of course, from the 100-75 beating the Los Angeles Lakers had handed his Orlando Magic on Thursday.

Anyone watching could appreciate the irony, as awkward as it seemed. Alston standing, Nelson sitting a few feet behind his left shoulder. Starter and backup. One yielding to the other.

The Magic walked out of Staples Center thrashed and humbled, and now they must ask themselves this: By bringing back one point guard, did they

LOS ANGELES – Otis Smith knows how it looks. He declared Jameer Nelson(notes) out for the season. A week later that prognosis was upgraded to "a very smidgen of a chance" Nelson would return during the NBA Finals. At some point, it became a "50-50" prospect.

Given that dramatic rate of recovery and another 24 hours, won't Nelson surely be ready to play for the Orlando Magic in Thursday's opening game against the Los Angeles Lakers?

"I don't know," Smith said late Wednesday afternoon.

As general manager of the Magic, Smith thinks Nelson is probably healthy enough to play. He thinks his All-Star point guard's conditioning is better than expected. Nelson, who has been sidelined since tearing his labrum in his right shoulder on Feb. 2, also participated in the team's final practice without any problems.

So the question no longer seems to be as much about whether Nelson is ready, but rather if the Magic are ready for him to return. The answer doesn't seem to be difficult.

If you need him,

LOS ANGELES – The soul patch is gone. He hasn't published a book in nearly five years, and who knows when he and Luc Longley last checked a lobster pot. One of his assistants claims he's even gone, yikes, soft.

These days, it's all about the basketball for Phil Jackson. Well, he's still dating the owner's daughter, which has led to some memorable appearances on Jeanie Vision, but that's also about the basketball, sort of.

Jackson gets his third crack at Title X, starting this week, and if he seems a little more urgent, his focus a little more narrowed, that's because of the basketball, too. Seven years after his last championship, seven years after nearly everyone west of Causeway Street anointed him Greatest Coach Ever, or, at least, (Arguably) Greatest Coach Ever, Jackson has found himself with something to prove.

Specifically, can he still win this thing?

"I think even he misses those days when we carried off that trophy as NBA champions," Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher

DENVER – For one quarter, nearly two, Kobe Bryant(notes) waited. He drew the defense away from his teammates, he watched their confidence build and, still, the Denver Nuggets clung to the Los Angeles Lakers. No, this wasn't good enough. The NBA Finals were too close, too fragile an opportunity, to leave this night to chance, and Bryant knew it.

As the final few minutes of the first half started to tick away, he stepped into a short jump shot. A 22-footer over Carmelo Anthony(notes) followed. Anthony pressed closer the next time down the floor, but Bryant rose higher still, burying yet another dagger.

Before the Nuggets could look up, Bryant had the ball back in his hands, launching a 3-pointer from the right corner that slipped through the net just as easily as the three shots before it. Denver coach George Karl later joked that during those three minutes even "Jesus would have had trouble" covering Bryant and, some 2,200 miles away in a Florida hotel room, another basketball god was

LOS ANGELES – The night began like so many have for Lamar Odom(notes). His back ached. He had no rhythm, no shot, no … nothing. He drove hard to the rim and, suddenly, Chris Andersen(notes), the Denver Nuggets' frenetic center, was there, swallowing up the ball before it could leave Odom's hand.

The Los Angeles Lakers had come to expect this from Odom the past two weeks. They knew he was hurting. They also knew they couldn't count on him, even if they wouldn't admit it.

Odom knew this, too. So with the fourth quarter having now arrived, with the Lakers' season having reached a crossroads, he took a pass from Kobe Bryant(notes) and looked up to see Birdman Andersen again standing between him and the basket. Odom bounced hard off the court, past Andersen, cradling the ball just long enough to let everyone know the ferocity that awaited.

An instant later, Odom was punching the ball through the rim, crashing down on Andersen. He lingered for a moment, staring past his teammates at all

ORLANDO, Fla. – He had called out his coach, demanding he give him the ball, give him the right to carry the Orlando Magic through the playoffs, and now Dwight Howard(notes) was finally having to follow his own marching orders. Stan Van Gundy looked at Howard late Tuesday, the roar of the crowd falling upon them, and delivered a simple message to his franchise star.

Want the ball?

Go get it.

Howard walked back onto the court, and LeBron James(notes) and the Cleveland Cavaliers never had a chance. Dunk. Dunk. Layup. One possession after another, Howard punished the Cavaliers in overtime, bouncing them out of his way, jamming the ball down upon their heads.

This is what superstars do. Howard wanted the pressure and he delivered, carrying his Magic to a 116-114 victory, giving them a 3-1 lead over King James and the Cavs in the Eastern Conference finals. One more win and Howard, not James, will be playing for an NBA title.

"He showed why he's the most dominant player in the league," Magic

ORLANDO, Fla. – Somewhere at 30,000 feet, the Orlando Magic escaped LeBron James(notes). They had replayed the shot in their heads on the flight home, over and over, torturing themselves until all they could do was laugh. Hadn't they already done the heartbreak story? Andre Iguodala(notes). Thaddeus Young(notes). Big Baby Davis.

Take a number, LeBron. Get in line. Hell of a shot, nice highlight, but c'mon. This wasn't the first dagger to pierce these Magic. Just one more superficial wound.

By now, everyone should know the Magic heal pretty quickly. If not, Sunday night offered the greatest proof yet. Shrugging off the sting of their last-second loss in Cleveland, the Magic pushed around the Cavaliers in a 99-89 victory at Amway Arena that gives them a 2-1 lead and control of the Eastern Conference finals.

After spending the previous 48 hours debating whether the Magic were ready to curl up at King James' feet, we might want to start asking this: If anyone's resolve is going to be

LOS ANGELES – Another lead was slipping away, another opportunity about to skirt past the Denver Nuggets. Chauncey Billups(notes) felt the nightmare happening all over again. The Los Angeles Lakers had rushed by the Nuggets in the closing minutes two nights earlier, and now they were doing so again.

No more, Billups vowed as he took his place in Denver's huddle. No easy baskets, he barked. Get tough. Make the Lakers pay for coming into the lane.

Make. Them. Pay.

Finally, for once in their cursed playoff history with the Lakers, the Nuggets shoved back. On this night, even Kobe Bryant(notes) fell at their feet. Derek Fisher's(notes) last-gasp 3-pointer dropped woefully short of the rim, and the Nuggets walked off the court with a 106-103 victory, having squared the Western Conference finals at a game apiece.

Some 30 minutes later, Kenyon Martin(notes) stood in front of his locker and delivered another pointed message to Laker Nation. Anyone who's looking forward to watching Kobe duel