The Zen Master's Last Resort?! He Still Needed Practice!

"Zen Master" Phil Jackson was nervous too. He was considering whether to call a timeout.

To let Kobe rest for a bit.

After thinking it over, he dismissed the idea.

The lead had shrunk to four points.

But both players were making unstoppable shots. Calling a timeout could break Kobe's rhythm.

That wouldn't be a good thing.

Phil Jackson left the decision to Kobe. If Kobe signaled for a timeout, he'd call one without hesitation.

Otherwise... he'd let Kobe play at his own pace.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Kobe took Paul's inbound pass and dribbled the ball up the court himself.

He moved fast.

He wasn't just trying to score; he was racing against the clock.

On the right side above the arc, Kobe matched up with Su Yan again, initiating contact and battling fiercely.

He wasn't trying to knock Su Yan off balance. He was using the contact to turn and find his rhythm.

Accelerate, stop abruptly, change direction, accelerate, stop again—over and over, until he found his comfort zone.

Kobe... stopped and leaned back for the shot.

Once again, he unleashed his signature move, shooting with an almost impossible form under Su Yan's suffocating pressure.

Maximum difficulty.

It had been maximum difficulty all along.

They'd both been making these shots. The first one to falter would lose.

"If someone has to win, why can't it be me?!"

Kobe let the shot fly with a hoarse roar, his desire to win burning through every word.

The ball sailed over Su Yan's fingertips, tracing a graceful arc through the air before... dropping straight through the net.

In?!

In, in, in.

Kobe kept up his scoring.

He cut the lead to two, with 20.7 seconds left. If they got a quick stop and scored on the next possession, they still had a