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Prez: 'I haven't seen anybody match up with Michael'

(NEWSER) - President and Basketballer-in-Chief Obama wasn’t coy when asked whether he preferred Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan: “Oh, Michael,” he told the AP. “I mean, Kobe’s terrific. Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But I haven’t seen anybody match up with Michael.” Jordan, of course, played for Obama’s hometown Bulls—though Obama says he’s “no Lakers hater,” and indeed predicted Los Angeles’ victory over Orlando in the NBA finals. More»

Cops vow to jail miscreants as coliseum fills

(NEWSER) - An estimated 150,000 clogged streets in downtown Los Angeles today as the NBA-champion Lakers took a victory lap around downtown, the Times reports. Some 80,000 more jammed the Coliseum for a rally at parade’s end. Police, hoping to avoid the looting and chaos that followed Sunday’s clinching victory over the Orlando Magic, turned out in force. More»

(AP) - Orlando finally regained its Magic touch. Making easy shots and tough ones from everywhere, the Magic won their first game in two visits to the NBA finals as Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis scored 21 points apiece in a 108-104 victory over Los Angeles. The Lakers still lead the series, 2-1, and Game 4 is Thursday night. More»

Lakers gain 2-0 lead in finals

(NEWSER) - The Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 101-96 in Los Angeles yesterday, taking a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Orlando flubbed a last-second shot at a fourth-quarter win, then let the Lakers dominate overtime with a 7-0 run, the Los Angeles Times reports. Kobe Bryant nailed just 29 points, 11 fewer than in Game 1. The Lakers' Pau Gasol contributed 24 points, and Lamar Odom 19. More»

Bryant dominates as Lakers overpower misfiring Magic

(NEWSER) - An unstoppable Kobe Bryant powered the Los Angeles Lakers to a 100-75 win over the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the NBA Finals last night, the Houston Chronicle reports. Bryant started slow but turned a 5-point deficit into a 26-point lead after taking control, finishing the game with a Finals career-high 40 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. More»