With one big shot, Derek Fisher changed Game 4 and possibly the NBA Finals giving LA a 3-1 series lead over Orlando.

It was all there for them. A chance to get even with a pivotal Game 5 on their home floor and the crowd too. But the Magic gave away a second game in this NBA Finals falling in overtime 99-91 in Game 4 to trail 3-1 in the series.

Where did Stan Van Gundy’s team lose it? We’ll just say the third quarter where for some strange reason, they came out flat as a pancake turning a 12-point halftime lead into a four-point deficit. The Lakers outscored them 30-14 beating them to every loose ball and getting much easier looks than at any point in the first half. While LA heated up offensively, Orlando’s offense stagnated settling for contested perimeter shots. When a perimeter oriented team stops making, it makes it very easy for the opponent to get back in fueling quick counter attacks. Before you knew it, Lamar Odom was draining an open trey to put the Lakers up five.

Sure. The fourth quarter was great back and forth action featuring some of the best of the series. You had Kobe Bryant and Hedo Turkoglu trading big shots along with Trevor Ariza, whose three trifectas must’ve made every Knick fan see red. Thanks Larry Brown. But when Turk made a tough stepback three and followed it with a driving lay-in to put the Magic up two possessions with a minute left, it should have been enough to take their second straight leveling things.

Instead, like Game 2 when one stop would’ve changed the whole dynamic of the Finals, Orlando couldn’t keep the Lakers off the board. Still up three though, a desperate Kobe hacked an open Dwight Howard underneath the basket before Superman could finish. The quick foul forced him to earn it at the line. One made free throw probably would’ve sealed it. Instead, like his teammate Turkoglu, he clanged a pair giving the purple and gold new life. On the night, the Magic missed 15 from the charity stripe.

Following Phil Jackson’s timeout, he had his team inbound the ball in the backcourt. The Magic quickly doubled Kobe forcing him to give up the ball but the transition allowed Derek Fisher to get an open look. Inexplicably, Jameer Nelson played a couple of feet underneath the three-point line giving a dangerous money shooter enough room and space to line it up. Just like that, the game was all tied with 4.6 seconds left.

Sadly, even following two timeouts, the Magic failed to get a good look with Turkoglu inbounding to Mickael Pietrus, who was nowhere close missing a desperation heave. Poor execution proved costly as Van Gundy’s guys never recovered getting outscored 12-4 with Fisher putting the final nail in the coffin with another one from way downtown. This on a night he missed his first five three’s but half of his 12 points came in crunch time. Should anyone have been surprised that the NBA Finals third leading three-point maker of all-time came through? With 40 makes, he trails only Michael Jordan (42) and former teammate Robert “Big Shot Bob” Horry (56). Not bad company.

And so, on a night Kobe shot 11 of 31 (32 Pts), he still managed to hand out eight assists and get seven rebounds while sinking all eight from the line. LA btw shot 15 of 20 compared to 22 of 37 from the hosts. There’s your biggest difference.

It was also a game which saw D-Howard make Finals history setting a new game record with nine blocked shots missing out by one on a triple double (16 Pts, 21 Rebs, 9 Blks). Unfortunately, he also missed eight of 14 free throws which didn’t help the cause.

So, what happened in overtime? Howard’s teammates showed inexperience forcing tough shots like a pair Turkoglu took. They just weren’t nearly as poised as an opponent who was here last year and wants badly to erase those sour memories in their league record 30th Finals appearance.

After Thursday, it looks like they’re well on their way to earning Jackson an NBA record 10th ring which would surpass legendary Celtic coach Red Auerbach. He’s had a lot of talent to work with in MJ, Scottie Pippen, Kobe and Shaq but the man can also coach doing a solid job using his bench. That simply can’t be overlooked.

So, is it over? Well, we’re not gonna write off the Magic just yet as they easily could be tied or even up 3-1 had they not fallen apart. Sunday, they’ll get a chance to send the series back to Tinseltown. We’ll see if they show the same kind of mental fortitude displayed during this nice run.

The ball’s in their court.