This one came against Los Angeles as the Magic beat the Lakers 109-103 Friday night at Staples Center in a decent facsimile of an NBA Finals preview, complete with drama and tension.

The Magic (32-8) swept the Lakers (31-8) in the regular season for the first time in franchise history, following up a similar feat recorded in San Antonio against the Spurs.

They edged the Lakers 106-103 in Orlando on Dec. 20.

In a wild finish of second chances made and missed for both teams in the rematch, it was point guard Jameer Nelson who -- similar to his heroics in San Antonio -- delivered in the clutch.

After Pau Gasol made a layup off Kobe Bryant's miss to give L.A. a 103-101 lead, Nelson drilled a 3-pointer with 35.7 seconds left for a one-point lead. Then the Magic survived as Bryant missed with 18 seconds left, forcing the Lakers to foul, with Nelson making two free throws.

Nelson finished with 28 points.

Orlando then dodged another bullet from Bryant. His potential game-tying three-pointer rimmed out with 7.9 seconds left, and Nelson grabbed the rebound. He was fouled and deposited two more free throws as the Magic came back from a lethargic first half.

Orlando closes out its last extended road trip of the season tonight in Denver against the Nuggets, looking to also sweep the four-game junket.

And with victories against leaders of the Southwest Division (San Antonio) and Pacific Division (Lakers), the Magic can pull off yet another sweep of all the Western Conference division frontrunners if they defeat the Nuggets, leaders of the Northwest.

The Magic, trailing 75-74 on Gasol's buzzer-beating tip at the end of the third, built an 85-81 lead after a 3-pointer by J.J. Redick. But in keeping with the tit-for-tat nature of the second half, the Lakers returned fire, and it was tied at 92 on two free throws by Bryant.

Dwight Howard had 25 points and 20 rebounds while Bryant finished with a triple-double: 28 points, 13 boards and 11 assists.

Down by eight at halftime, the Magic started to play aggressively, forcing turnovers to give the night a pulse.

A 3-pointer by Rashard Lewis and a layup by Courtney Lee kickstarted a 9-2 run. Nelson was fouled shooting a 3-pointer, and he made all three free throws to cut L.A.'s lead to 54-53.

You had to think things were looking up for the Magic when Howard hit a 15-foot jumper.

Nelson's drive tied it at 58, and Hedo Turkoglu gave the Magic the lead with another layup.

A bucket inside by Howard followed, and then a steal by Lewis set up Lewis' 3-pointer for a 68-60 lead.

Turkoglu forced another turnover, leading to a Howard free throw. The game had turned on its ear, and the Lakers were gasping.

At least momentarily. The Lakers buckled down, scrambling to hit consecutive 3-pointers by Bryant and Vladimir Radmanovic that came off second-chance opportunities to trim the deficit to 71-69. Radmanovic made another 3-pointer as L.A. had come all the way back to lead 72-71.

Early on, the Magic were playing indifferently and indecisively, but they trailed just 33-29.

The Lakers pushed the lead to nine at 45-36 on Gasol's basket. Gasol and other Lakers were going directly at Howard, who picked up his second foul late in the first period and couldn't really act like the league's top shot-blocker.

Orlando stayed close through its poor shooting, as good road teams do, but it couldn't mount a run.

Lee hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the period, giving the Magic a little life.

But that momentum seemed to fizzle when Bryant penetrated, then kicked the ball to Derek Fisher, who drilled a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left for a 53-44 halftime lead.

The Magic appeared sluggish and sloppy at the onset as the Lakers controlled tempo. (They, ahem, looked like a team that had been enjoying L.A. for three days -- and two nights.)