Long Time Coming For Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla.

First game: Nov. 4, 1989.

First surreal moment: winning the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft. (Hello Shaq, goodbye anonymity.)

First heartbreak: 1996, Shaquille O'Neal bolting for Los Angeles. (Goodbye Shaq, hello mediocrity.)

First NBA Finals win: Last night.

Barely.

Twenty years in the making, Kobe had to inexplicably lose his dribble and the basketball in the final minute, a sight akin to watching Mariano Rivera blow a save or Tiger Woods double-bogey a playoff hole. Even after a plethora of misses by the Lakers from the three-point line, the outcome wasn't certain. Confetti was already coming down when the public-address announcer at Amway Arena intoned, "The play is under review."

How apropos, no? This wasn't as bad as Tracy McGrady proclaiming a playoff-series victory that never happened in Orlando. But when 0.2 of a second was put on the clock they had to wonder in this town if the wait would ever end.

Twenty years or two-tenths of a second, seems like the Magic was always on hold, listening for the horn to blare so that a single, precious game in the NBA Finals could be theirs.

The Overdue Magic 108, the Lake Show 104.

"It's a relief," said Pat Williams, the longest-tenured employee of the franchise who left the Philadelphia 76ers 23 years ago for the unknown promise of professional basketball in Central Florida.

Past 1 a.m. this morning, Williams reminded you that the record for the most NBA Finals losses without a win is the nine belonging to the Washington Bullets. "More than anything, I think it keeps our fans energized. This building was alive tonight. It was really vibrant."