It is game 2 in Los Angeles today, with the Orlando Magic trying to even up the series against the LA Lakers, in the 2009 NBA Finals. Tonight's game is live on ABC television, beginning at 8pm Eastern time. That's five o'clock for folks on the West Coast. Tonight's game also features a performance from 2009 American Idol winner Kris Allen, an event that's become something of a tradition. Here in LA, Lakers flags are out on the streets, and the sports bars are decorated in purple and gold. Even local graffiti artists are showing some Laker pride.

Update -- The Los Angeles Lakers won Game 2 over the Orlando Magic in overtime, with a final score of 101-96. The next three games are scheduled to be played in Orlando.

Fresh Go Lakers Art in Venice Beach

A late Sunday afternoon Lakers game in Los Angeles decreases the amount of people visiting LA beaches, except for maybe those visiting the Baja Cantina in Venice (a local sports hangout where LA Lakers players are spotted regularly) and Marina del Rey. Locals are showing their LA Laker pride, with one example being fresh tagging with purple paint, at the infamous Venice graffiti art pit (painting is allowed on a permit basis).

Winner of American Idol 2009, Kris Allen, will sing the national anthem before tonight's game two of the National Basketball Association finals being broadcast on ABC television. American Idol singers performing at the NBA finals has become something of a tradition, with nearly every Idol winner performing during the NBA finals.

In our Lakers Magic Game One coverage, we included some information on the playoff game schedule along with tips for finding information online during the series. Again, ABC is handling the broadcast for the NBA finals on TV, which is also available in HD. Check out the official NBA Finals pages (http://www.nba.com/finals2009/)
for more details on scheduled game times and TV broadcasts.

Lakers Vs Magic Schedule -- Game one of the NBA finals was on June 4, with the Lakers winning that game by a score of 100 to 75. Game two is today, June 7 in Los Angeles, California, at 8 PM Eastern time. Game three of the NBA finals is scheduled at 9pm Eastern time in Orlando, Florida (on Tuesday, June 9). Game 4 of the series is Thursday, June 11, also in Orlando. That game broadcasts at 9pm Eastern. If necessary, game #5 will be played in Orlando at 8pm ET (5 PM locally in LA). If game six and game seven information become a reality, we'll update this schedule.

For those of you that twitter, it is a great way to interact with others and share your excitement before, during, and after the games. Twitter has been explosive with NBA finals related tweets, with 140 character messages numbering into the thousands during gametime. Check out the list of selected hash tags and search queries if you want to follow others tweeting information during the finals.

Even the graffiti in Los Angeles is themed in Lakers colors.

A much larger view of the artistic expression spray-painted on the walls along the Venice Shoreline. Some people put flags on their cars, others wear official NBA jerseys, and some prefer to show their Laker love by spray painting in gold and purple.