"When his teammates needed him most, point guard Rafer Alston reminded the Orlando Magic why they traded for him back in February.

Alston, whose horrid shooting and erratic playmaking in Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals hamstrung the Magic offense, rediscovered his game Tuesday night, keying the Magic to a 108-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3.

Alston scored 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting --- a stark contrast to his performance earlier in the series. In the Finals' first two games, he scored a total of just 10 points and made just 17.6 percent of his shots from the field.

"I was a little more aggressive than I was in Games 1 and 2," Alston said. "My teammates and coaches --- everybody --- told me to be the guy that they brought in. I took that very seriously, and that's what I wanted to do."

Orlando entered Tuesday night needing improved play from all of its guards. And while Jameer Nelson and Courtney Lee had lackluster games offensively, the Magic received 18 points from Mickael Pietrus and benefited from Alston's four assists.

"The guard play was great," Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Rafer got off to a good start and played very, very well, played with great confidence."

Entering Tuesday, the Orlando guards who had played in the series' first two games --- Alston, Lee, Nelson, Pietrus and J.J. Redick --- combined for just 53 points in the first two games. They shot only 20 of 69 from the field. They totaled just 13 assists.

The backcourt players' inability to knock down shots made it easier for the Lakers to double-team Dwight Howard in the post. The defensive strategy made Howard less of a scoring threat."