-Orlando at L.A. Lakers, late

Sunday

-Orlando at L.A. Lakers, 8 p.m.

Tuesday

-L.A. Lakers at Orlando, 9 p.m.

Thursday, June 11

-L.A. Lakers at Orlando, 9 p.m.

LOS ANGELES - Orlando Magic All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson was to play in Game 1 of the NBA finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

The Magic activated Nelson earlier in the day and coach Stan Van Gundy said he would be the backup behind Rafer Alston, who the Magic acquired in February shortly after Nelson went down with what was expected to be a season-ending shoulder injury.

But Nelson has been working out with the team for weeks and began taking part in fullcourt drills during the Eastern Conference finals.

Van Gundy said he easiest decision would have been to keep Nelson on the sideline to avoid messing with the chemistry of the Eastern Conference champions, but felt his point guard had been making progress every day and it was worth the risk to play him.

"In the end we just think he's ready to go,'' Van Gundy said.

Nelson tore the labrum in his right shoulder on Feb. 2 and had surgery 17 days later. He was expected to be off the court until August, but recovered quickly and has regained his range of motion. The Magic believes the biggest issue to be his stamina.

Van Gundy said he isn't sure how much Nelson will play, but will not have him on a "short leash,'' adding "we're going to stick with him'' even if Nelson struggles during Game 1.

Nelson averaged 27.5 points in Orlando's two wins over the Lakers during the regular season.

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looking for work: Robert Horry, known for his tendency to hit big shots in key situations, says he's not looking to play anymore. He'd rather coach or continue working as a broadcaster.

"I'm more interested in those gigs. I just started putting my name out there,'' said Horry, who was at Staples Center for Game 1 of the Lakers-Magic series.

So where would he like to end up?

"I think I have a respect around the league where guys will respect the knowledge I have. I'm a crossroads guy and I have knowledge from both big time eras.''

Teams can certainly grab hints about what it takes to make clutch shots from Horry, who won NBA titles while playing for both the Lakers and Spurs.

So which shots rank on the top of his list?

How about the shot in 2003 when he hit a game-winning 23-foot jumper with no time left to give the Lakers a 97-95 win over the Pacers?

"The shot I made here is always going to be tops. It gives me goosebumps. That's the only shot I made with no time left on the clock and that's how you want to make a shot. It's such a special treat when you can walk off with no time left,'' said Horry.

"The shot here, the shot in Detroit and the dunk in Detroit are tops.''

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VAN GUNDYISMS: Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy wasn't worried about President Obama's NBA finals prediction that has the Lakers winning the series in six games. "I can honestly say I had absolutely no thoughts on that whatsoever. I hope he's got a lot more important things to be concerned about,'' said Van Gundy before the game. "I hope he's not spending too much time worrying about the NBA finals.''

What about his thoughts on the star power often found on the sidelines?

"There's one person in the entire world that I've ever been awe-struck by and been sort of like a little kid celebrity-wise, and that's Oscar Robertson. I've met him three times in my life. I'm still like a little kid around him. Everybody else is no big deal,'' said Van Gundy, who is making his first finals appearance.

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Magic'S MOMENT: The Orlando Magic have finally found someone picking them to win.

An EA Sports NBA Live 10 simulation of the NBA finals resulted with the Magic beating the Lakers for their first championship. The Magic dropped the first two games of the series, but rallied to win the final two in Los Angeles, winning the title with a 96-88 victory in Game 7.

Dwight Howard was MVP of the series in the simulation.

The Lakers are favored to win the championship, and the Magic say they are used to the underdog role.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has never lost a series when winning Game 1, going 43-0.

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SPREADING SOME LOVE: Timberwolves forward and former UCLA star Kevin Love was making the rounds Thursday, as an interviewer. Love, working as a correspondent for NBA TV, was quizzing Magic Johnson on what it takes to get to the finals. "I'm working a little bit,'' said Love, who claimed he was a bit nervous. "You're on the complete other side of the spectrum, so you have to be quick with your questions.''

Any quirks? "Sure, I get to come to the games for free,'' said Love.

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BANK SHOTS: Mickael Pietrus will have AF447 written on his shoes that's a tribute to the passengers of the Air France Flight that crashed. ... Orlando COO Alex Martins flew out the entire Magic front office staff (200-plus) for Game 1 in LA.

AP-ES-06-04-09 2035EDT