Jameer Nelson reacts after making a 3-pointer in overtime in Game 4. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

It’s only one game, but the Orlando Magic may have turned the corner with the help of their little leader.

Down 0-3 in the 2010 Eastern Conference finals and their season on the line, the Magic finally showed some fight thanks to Jameer Nelson, their 5-foot-10 point guard with a big heart. Nelson took it upon himself to lift his team out of the three-game funk it was in with his scoring, passing, play-making and, more importantly, his leadership.

He scored 23 points, set up Dwight Howard for many of his 13 field goals from close range and finished the game with nine assists, two more than his assist total for the previous three games. He also thoroughly outplayed his counterpart Rajon Rondo, who had been torturing him for much of the series.

“He’s a tough competitive guy, I thought he played with great aggressiveness and fought very, very hard,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of Nelson, who made seven of 14 shots for the game, including two huge 3-pointers in overtime, to lead Orlando to a hard-fought 96-92 victory in overtime in Game 4.

The Orlando Magic avoided elimination after winning Game 4 in Boston. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Howard easily played his best game of the playoffs with 32 points (13-for-19 from the field), 16 rebounds and four blocked shots, and J.J. Redick scored 12 points off the bench, all of them coming in the second half that helped maintain Orlando’s lead. But it was Nelson who made the big plays when it matter most.

“He created the vast majority of our offense tonight there’s no doubt about that,” Van Gundy said. “We put a lot on his shoulders and he responded extremely well. He was tremendous tonight.”

Though Orlando is still down 3-1 in the series, getting one win was a huge boost to their sagging confidence after Boston won the first three games. “At some point, somebody’s gonna come from three-nothing down to win a series. And the only thing I knew for sure was we’d start by winning Game 4,” said Van Gundy.

“A lot of times people say ‘I can’t think about winning the series, you gotta win one game.’ I’ve never really bought into that. I’ve never been down three nothing as a head coach. I’ve been [down] three-one. If you don’t believe you’re going to win the series, then it’s too easy to let go. Yeah, you have to play it one game at a time but you have to have a belief somewhere that you can win the series. Otherwise, there’s just not enough to sustain you and to keep you going in the game.”

Van Gundy shouldered much of the blame for the 23-point loss in Game 3, saying he should have done a better job of coaching. If that’s the case, then Van Gundy should get a lot of credit for shifting the focus of the offense from Howard to Nelson, putting him in double pick-and-rolls on the strong side, which allowed Howard to slip to the post instead of having to fight for position every time. Also give Van Gundy credit for not sticking with Vince Carter, who was just 1-for-9 and held to three points. Instead, Van Gundy opted with Redick’s offense and Matt Barnes’ defense down the stretch.

“I don’t think we played desperate, I do think we played hard and we fought,” Van Gundy said. “I thought in the first half we played well. In the second half and overtime, [we had] 15 turnovers so we didn’t play well but we did keep fighting and fighting and fighting, and that’s what it took to get an overtime win.

“It’s the first time, I think in the series, we actually made it tough on them.”

With Nelson initiating the attack, the Magic played faster and got into their sets quicker, making it tougher for the Celtics to set up their great halfcourt defense.

“Jameer was driving the ball hard. I thought he was really aggressive. At times, he got down too deep and he did turn it over a lot. But he’s got a lot of guts,” Van Gundy said.

With both teams looking weary and tired from 48 minutes of physical basketball, Nelson put the Magic ahead for good at 89-86 when he banked in a 3-pointer from the wing. He then iced it with another 3-pointer with 1:59 left that put Orlando up 92-86.

The Magic fed off Nelson’s fighting spirit and now they believe can make this a series. Orlando returns home for Game 5 and should the Magic win the pressure shifts to the Celtics in Game 6.

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How quickly things can change.

A week ago, the Orlando Magic was the sexy pick to represent the East in the NBA Finals based on the way they dismantled the Charlotte Bobcats and Atlanta Hawks.

Today, the Magic are on the brink of elimination and appear to be surrendering to the Boston Celtics, who have completely undressed the Magic in the 2010 Eastern Conference finals thanks to a stifling defense that is reminiscent of their championship run in 2008.

Is Orlando’s season over? According to Dwight Howard, his team seemed despondent and defeated in Game 3, and has not shown any signs of wanting to extend this series. The Celtics held the Magic to 39% shooting and 28% from behind the arc in their 94-71 rout in Boston to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Glen Davis (right) and the Celtics have kept Dwight Howard in check in the 2010 Eastern Conference finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Howard, Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis, all key cogs during Orlando’s eight-game playoff winning streak, have been handcuffed by the great Celtics defense.

Howard, aka Blankman, has once again smeared the Superman brand with his pathetic performance in the conference finals. He was held to seven points in Game 3 and is shooting just 45% from the field (he shot 84% in the previous series against the Hawks).

The biggest reason why Orlando has had a difficult time scoring (83.6) against Boston’s defense is Blankman’s ineptness in the low post. Because Blankman can’t beat Boston’s single coverage, the Celtics’ perimeter defenders have been able to attach themselves to the Magic shooters, running them out of the 3-point line every chance they get.

Nelson, who won his one-on-one battles with Charlotte’s Raymond Felton and Atlanta’s Mike Bibby, has been severely outplayed by Boston’s Rajon Rondo.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers targeted Nelson as the key to the whole series, and Boston has done an excellent job in limiting his kick-outs to his shooters and funneling him to the teeth of the defense where his 5-foot-9 frame becomes an issue. Nelson is making only 38% of his shots from the field and under 30% from threes. He also has just seven assists in three games.

And then there is Lewis, the poster boy for Orlando’s struggles on offense. Boston’s suffocating defense, led by Kevin Garnett, has made Lewis disappear and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who vowed to get Lewis more shots after Game 1, has not been able to get his forward more involved.

Lewis, who is 6-for-24 for the series, is averaging a measly 5.0 points per game and has made just one 3-pointer (1-for-13).

No team has ever come back from an 0-3 hole in the NBA playoffs, so the odds are stacked against the Magic. Losing the first two games at home was crippling and, after tonight, don’t expect to see Orlando again until October when the 2010-11 season begins.

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Jameer Nelson is on a mission. His poor performance in the 2009 NBA Finals against the L.A. Lakers has fueled his desire to get back to the Finals and atone for his disappointment.

In fairness to Nelson, he wasn’t healthy during the Finals and it showed. He failed to cover Derek Fisher late in Game 4 and it cost the Magic the series. Fisher hit a game-tying 3-pointer in regulation and hit another big 3-pointer in overtime to give the Lakers a 3-1 lead in the series. L.A. went on to win the championship in five games.

That memory has haunted Magic’s All-Star guard throughout the offseason and he probably won’t stop thinking about it until he gets back to the Finals and lead the Magic to the championship.

First on Nelson’s agenda is the Charlotte Bobcats.

Through the first three games of the series, all Orlando victories, Nelson has completely dominated his matchup against Charlotte’s Raymond Felton and the 5-foot-10 Magic point guard has been without a doubt the best player on the court.

“Jameer dominated the game, again,” Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. “The 19 points in the first quarter was special. But I thought the last eight minutes of the game he got everybody a shot. He got the ball anywhere he wanted, and took what was there. He was phenomenal.”

Nelson, who has Mighty Mouse tattoed on his arm, matched his playoff career high of 32 points in Game 3 and put the Magic on his little back when All-Star center Dwight Howard fouled out with under four minutes to play.

“I’m gonna keep it real, they’re beating us – on both ends,” said a frustrated Bobcats forward Stephen Jackson. “They’re playing great defense and they’re hitting shots. Their point guard is making plays for those guys. I mean even though Jameer is not scoring every time, he’s getting guys wide open shots and they’re knocking them down.”

Nelson’s floater in the lane gave Orlando an 85-82 lead with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter that pretty much sealed the series for the Magic. Nelson matched his great performance in Game 1 with an equally great performance in Game 3. He made 12 of 21 shots from the field and was 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

“The little guy, he led us tonight. He did an excellent job in shooting the ball, passing the ball and playing defense. That’s what won us the game,” said Howard, who played just 26 minutes in Game 3 because of foul trouble.

But have no fear Magic fans, Mighty Mouse has Superman’s back.

Video is courtesy of NBA.com

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Jameer Nelson's decision to play in The Finals has hurt the Magic rather than help them.

A 3-1 deficit in The NBA Finals. It is staring the Orlando Magic in the face as it tries to figure out what went wrong in Game 4, a game that saw the Magic blow a 12-point halftime lead, turn the ball over 19 times and miss 15 free throws.

But the biggest reason why Orlando is on the brink of elimination is because of the presence of Jameer Nelson. In hindsight, the decision to activate him for the NBA Finals was probably the wrong one. Instead of providing a shot in the arm for the Magic, Nelson has become a detriment to team chemistry and his blown defensive assignment at the end of regulation will go down as one of the all-time blunders.

Nelson, the All-Star guard who has played in four games since injuring his right shoulder in February, inexplicably allowed Derek Fisher too much space to shoot a 3-pointer that tied the game at 87 with 4.6 seconds left and forced overtime, where Fisher hit another three to seal a 99-91 Lakers victory.

Mr. Nelson, meet Mr. Buckner.

“Obviously, we didn’t want to give up a three. I think I let Fisher get into rhythm and he shot a good shot. I could have pushed up a little more,” Nelson said of Fisher’s first 3-pointer of the game after missing his previous five attempts. Fisher’s second 3-pointer came in overtime, which also involved Nelson.

“I got elbowed,” Nelson said. “I went to go double Kobe and got elbowed. The explanation I got was the man had the ball so [the referee] can’t call the elbow,” Nelson said on the play where Bryant’s right elbow knocked him to the floor and allowed Fisher an open look at the top of the 3-point arc that made it 94-91 with 30 seconds left in OT.

Mickael Pietrus, one of the few Magic players who actually delivered in the clutch in Game 4 and did an admirable job of slowing down Kobe Bryant, says the game began slipping away in the third quarter when the Lakers erased a 12-point halftime deficit by outscoring Orlando, 30-14, in the third.

“I think we didn’t play well at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter. We started panicking a little bit and lost a lot on turnovers,” Pietrus said.

Did Pietrus just say the Magic panicked? Somewhere out in Phoenix, Shaquille O’Neal is laughing out loud as he Twitters.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said the end of regulation will “haunt him forever,” but his nightmare was a self-inflicted psychological scar. His decision to play Nelson in the fourth quarter and overtime will turn out to be more damaging than any missed free throw or careless turnover.

Van Gundy reasoned that he gave Nelson more minutes in the second half because Orlando was struggling on offense and Alston would have had a difficult time getting in rhythm after sitting for a long time.

“I thought we had a really, really bad third quarter,” Van Gundy explained. “It wasn’t so much one guy over the other, it was just we had a unit in the fourth that was playing real well and then you get down to the point where Rafer hasn’t played in 10 or 12 minutes. I thought it would be to bring him back. Jameer wasn’t doing a whole lot, but it also wasn’t hurting us at all.”

Alston had 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting, two assists and one turnover in 27 minutes. Nelson had two points, three turnovers and three assists in 26 minutes.

“I was shocked. I was shocked,” Alston told the Associated Press of his Van Gundy’s decision to bench him. “It’s tough. You’re thinking Coach will come back to you. The first two games I could understand, but again we were right there to win the game. As a player you would like to have your number called.”

Van Gundy dismissed the idea that Orlando’s lack of experience was not a factor in the Magic being down 3-1 in the series. Instead, he pointed out some regrettable mistakes that will stick with them all summer and maybe beyond that.

“Well, 19 turnovers to eight. Free throw shooting and poor execution down the stretch,” Van Gundy said.

Dwight Howard tried to defend his teammate and close friend, saying it was more Fisher than Nelson’s decision not to contest the shot that killed the Magic in Game 4.

“We tried to take that away, but he just made a tough shot,” Howard said. “We just rushed a little bit. But there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”

Despite Nelson’s botched assignment on defense and all the turnovers, Orlando still had a chance to secure the victory with 11 seconds left when Howard was fouled by Bryant and sent him to the line with the Magic ahead 87-84. All Howard needed to do was sink one free throw the outcome would have been different.

“I just missed them. I’ve been working my free throws, I just didn’t make them,” said Howard, who was 6-for-14 from the line and his two huge misses with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter allowed the Lakers a chance to tie game.

“It wasn’t just me, it was all of us,” Howard said of Orlando’s 22-for-37 free throw shooting. “But there is no reason to have any doubts right now. Never stop fighting, never stop believing. We have to bounce back. There’s no need to hang our heads.”

Howard’s monster game – 16 points, 21 rebounds and a Finals record nine blocked shots – was overshadowed by his seven turnovers and his eight missed foul shots. Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic with 25 points, but he was 8-for-13 from the line. Rashard Lewis struggled all night and finished with just six points on 2-for-10 shooting.

Should the Magic somehow win Game 5, it would only prolong the inevitable. The Lakers are now in complete control of the series and the Magic players, as well as Coach Van Gundy, have no one to blame but themselves.

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