A few weeks ago, I was debating the Los Angeles Lakers’ offense with a business associate. He harrumphed about the Lakers not playing team-oriented basketball because “it’s all just Kobe Bryant taking 40 shots a game.”

I corrected him on Bryant’s average shot total—it’s half that, 20.9 field goal attempts per game—and before he could claim that I was proving his point, I groused that a well-designed offense puts the ball in its best scorers as often as possible. I have these kinds of discussions often, since so many people think that NBA offense means give the ball to the guy with the sneaker contract and get out the way. I usually forget about those conversations, but Game 2 of the NBA finals on Sunday night vividly brought that one back to mind.

The Lakers beat the Magic 101-96 in overtime, but for Orlando most of the key moments involved players who shouldn’t have been the first offensive option. Twice in the final minute of the game, the Magic put the ball—and in all likelihood their chance at a title—in Courtney Lee’s hands.

Orlando is a team with an impressive array of offensive talent. Forwards Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis are among the league’s elite front-court players. Center Dwight Howard is in the early stages of what looks like a Hall of Fame-bound career. Lee is a rookie, who is best known as a defensive specialist.

That’s what made the final minute of regulation so mystifying. That Lee would take one shot isn’t a big deal. In Orlando’s penultimate offensive sequence, the Lakers deftly denied Lewis and Turkoglu open looks at the basket and smothered the passing lanes to Howard. Lee’s awkward drive and missed shot was all that was left. However, after Turkoglu blocked Bryant from behind and retrieved the ball, a play that would have gone into hoops lore had it led to a victory, the Magic drew up a play for Lee. He came off of a screen and had a free run to the rim just as the pass was lofted in the air. He caught it and missed the layup.

Given new life, the Lakers illustrated what a well-designed offense looks like: In the overtime session, all but two of the Lakers’ scoring attempts were by Bryant, center Pau Gasol or forward Lamar Odom. Meanwhile, Orlando was relying on another reserve, J.J. Reddick. The only surprise is that the Lakers only won by five points.