ORLANDO, Fla. — Dwight Howard plopped down on the bench, pulled his jersey into his mouth and stared at Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrating on his home court.

He couldn’t move.

The best season in Orlando Magic history came to a close Sunday night with a 99-86 to the Lakers in Game Five of the NBA Finals.

As teammates filed to the locker room slowly, Howard didn’t budge. Finally, Jameer Nelson came back to give him some company on the bench, a view that had been great for most of this season.

Now it’s over.

“What I just told Jameer is look at it, just see how they’re celebrating,” Howard said. “And it should motivate us to want to get in the gym, want to get better, just to see those guys celebrating.”

The Lakers ran off 16 straight points in a dominant second quarter to go ahead 56-46, built a 16-point lead early in the third period and coasted to their 15th championship. The Magic never came close.

The sound of happy Lakers fans scattered throughout Amway Arena kept the building from going silent. The smiles on the Magic fans were replaced with frowns, that hopeful feeling swapped for more heartache.

Howard and Nelson watched it all. “I went over to give him a hug,” Nelson said. “He just wanted me to stay there with him. He’s taking it hard. We all are.”

Orlando had relied so heavily on three-pointers all season but couldn’t connect for most of Game Five. The Magic had 13 turnovers and no answer for Los Angeles’ potent offense.

As painful as the final game was for Howard and his teammates, the memories of the Magic meltdowns in Games Two and Four are likely to sting even worse.

Those games were there for the Magic to take.

Orlando guard Courtney Lee missed an alley-oop attempt at the regulation buzzer in Game Two, a potential winning shot. The Magic lost in overtime.

But it got worse. Orlando was ahead 87-84 with 11.1

seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Game Four when Howard missed a pair of free throws that could have sealed the game and tied the series. Instead, the Magic again lost in overtime.

Orlando returned to the Finals for only the second time in franchise history, coming back in the spotlight for the first time since Shaquille O’Neal left the franchise in ruins when he bolted for Los Angeles after the 1996 season.