Howard contained in Game 1 of finals, and rest of Magic awful in blowout loss

Howard contained, rest of Magic awful in Game 1

LOS ANGELES — Rashard Lewis clanged jumpers, Dwight Howard was anything but Super.

And once their two top threats couldn’t get going, the Orlando Magic had nowhere to look for offense.

The Magic shot just 29.9 percent from the field in their return to the NBA finals and were overmatched by the Los Angeles Lakers in a 100-75 loss in Game 1 on Thursday night.

Orlando led early, sparked by the return of Jameer Nelson, but the momentum was quickly lost under a flurry of missed shots. The Magic weren’t far from the worst shooting effort in finals history, Syracuse’s 27.5 percent performance against Fort Wayne in 1955.

Nelson was a rusty 3-of-9, but that counts as a good night for the guys in blue uniforms.

Howard had 12 points and 15 rebounds, but was only 1-of-6 from the floor. Lewis managed only eight points, going 2-of-10.

Howard averaged 25.8 points in the conference finals against Cleveland, capped by a 40-point performance in Orlando’s Game 6 clincher. The Lakers never let him get going in Game 1, sending two or three defenders anytime Superman caught the ball too close to the basket.

He took only two shots, missing both, and scored two points in the pivotal third quarter, when the Lakers extended a 10-point halftime lead to as much as 26.

Orlando’s offense flows best when Howard forces teams to double him, so he can kick it out to the Magic’s plethora of perimeter threats. But he didn’t have many options when he threw it back out Thursday.

Hedo Turkoglu was 3-of-11, Courtney Lee 3-of-10, Rafer Alston 2-of-9, and Mickael Pietrus 5-of-13.

And LeBron James thought his help was bad.

Lewis was averaging 19.4 points in the postseason, causing matchup nightmares for opponents as a 6-foot-10 3-point threat. The Lakers are better suited to deal with the problems he creates because they have Lamar Odom, just as tall and quick enough to get out to the arc.

The Lakers forced Lewis to put the ball on the floor, and he’s not as comfortable shooting off the dribble. He made two 3-pointers but was 0-for-6 inside the arc, missing whether he drove all the way to the basket or pulling up for midrange jumpers.

Add it all up, and the Magic simply had no shot.