I agree most of the points in your post. The usually very annoying and sometimes almost unbearable Mark Jackson with his stupid "willing passer" or "mama there he goes" comments, said something right and semi-intelligent, that Lakers didn't lose the game, but Magic won the game.
It was a hard-fought game, and Lakers definitely had chances with a few made FTs here or another few lucky bounces there. OTOH, Magic could have wrapped up a minute earlier instead of last .2 second, if they had grabbed a few defensive boards more or boxed out a little bit better. But overall, Magic played a perfect offensive game, and Lakers played a pretty good game.
Maybe Kobe could have played better, for we are spoiled of his excellent performance, while raising the bar for him non-stop. But it's hard to beat a home team with 60%+ shootings. Kobe looked tired. It's very demanding in playoffs. That just shows you how hard is to go all the way. I seriously doubt whether a healthy Yao could log in 38-40 minutes a game, to carry a team for 4 rounds of playoffs to win the title. It makes really appreciate what those great players like Shaq, Olajuwon, Robinson etc did in the past.
My original prediction was Lakers in 5, which is still realistic at this point. But, I have to give Stan credit, the moves, sub pattern, boldness for change and plays he drew, great coaching materials.
Lakers shouldn't be too concerned, for it almost took a perfect game from Orlando to beat them at home. Magic should be encouraged for they did raise their game with home crowd support.
Looking forward to game 4.