Dwight Howard dominated the Lakers to win game 3 of the NBA Finals (NBA.com)

This post originally appeared on Kevin Patra's website thesportsunion.com

Lou, lou, Skip to my lou. Lou, lou skip to my lou. Lou, lou, skip to my lou. 
Orlando point guard Rafer Alston, formerly known as "Skip to my Lou" in his street-balling career, drove the Magic to a 108-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

"I was aggressive from start to finish. I was able to penetrate, get to the basket and find open guys," said Alston who scored 20 points and had 4 assists in Orlando's first NBA Finals victory in franchise history (they were swept in their previous trip).

Alston epitomized a Magic team that shot a Finals record 62.5 percent from the field. In the two losses prior, Alston was ineffective, leading some to believe he was upset by the presences of Jameer Nelson, who was reasserted into the lineup after being out since February.

"I told myself I need to play the style of play that has got me here and been successful," said Alston.

His play opened up more opportunities for his teammates as his drive and kicks often resulted in wide open jump shots for forwards Hedo Trukoglu (18 points) and Rashard Lewis (21 points). He also executed well in the pick-and-roll with Dwight Howard (21 points, 14 rebounds) who was able to get deeper in the lane against the Laker big men.
The news wasn't all cheery for the Magic.

"We shoot 62 percent," said Alston, "and we still almost lose the game."

Kobe Bryant opened the game hot, scoring 21 of his 31 in the first half. But the Lakers trailed 59-54 at halftime as they watched Orlando shoot 75 percent in the first half.
"I thought they hit shots, we did a good job of closing out," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "They shot well."

Conversely, the Lakers did not shoot well from the free-throw line, missing 10 of their 26 attempts. A shock to many who watched was Kobe Bryant, a career 84 percent free throw shooter, missed five attempts, including one that could have cut the Magic lead to one with under a minute remaining.

Perhaps Bryant was rattled from not hearing an M-V-P chant when he toed the free throw stripe.

"We've got to knock down free throws, but we lost the game on defense," said Bryant after the game.

Defense was scare from both sides as the game started off as a sprint, and ended as, well, a sprint. Each team had five players in double figures, and neither seemed to keep the other team from getting into the lane. The Lakers outshot the Magic 40-36 in the paint, a victory for the Magic, who were beat heavily in that statistic in the first two games.

After Bryant's big opening half the Magic, led by guard Courtney Lee and Turkoglu, were able to keep him to just 10 second half points.

"They threw the whole kitchen sink [at me]," said Bryant of the Magic's team defense in the second half.

Even setting the record the Lakers remained close in the second half, thanks to consistent play from Pau Gasol (23 points) and short bursts from Lamar Odom (11 points) in the fourth quarter.

Odom continues to epitomize an inconsistent Laker team, and while he had his moments to start the fourth -- including one sequence when he blocked a shot at one end and made a spinning fadeaway at the other -- he let himself be taken out of the offensive end for much of the game.

The Magic came through in a virtual must-win Game 3 to bring the series to 2-1 and can take solace in knowing they can compete with the Lakers.

On the flipside, the Lakers know if they play better defense and make free throws they can overcome Orlando's record-setting offensive numbers.

The Lakers, however, aren't taking anything for granted.

"This is team that has been through adverse situations, this is a tough team," said Bryant of his opponent. "This is not a cupcake team."

Hopefully he passed that message on to candy-loving Odom, or he might have tried to eat them.