Bill Walton set down his pen and said with feeling, "The physicality when Li Fei defended O'Neal just now, and Houston's foul on Kobe—both were battles at this level. This wasn't the gentle probing of the regular season. This was an all-out fight to the death."
"That's Game 7. Every defensive possession demands everything you have, and every foul has to be decisive. The referees won't call those harmless little tugs. They'll only blow the whistle for fouls that truly affect the offense," Kevin Harlan added, his voice filled with anticipation for the game.
Marv Albert picked up the thread. "Those two possessions, those two fouls, were the purest kind of physical fouls—no controversy whatsoever. Li Fei defending O'Neal, Houston defending Kobe, both giving it everything they had. That's the Game 7 fans want to see!"
Kobe stood at the free-throw line, adjusted his breathing, and fixed his gaze ahead, unaffected by the cheers and boos from the crowd. He held the ball with both hands, raised his arms smoothly, and flicked his wrist. The basketball traced a clean arc through the air. "Swish—" The crisp sound of the net rang out as the first free throw dropped cleanly. The Lakers finally broke their scoring drought, making it 6-2.
The Lakers fans in the arena let out subdued but heartfelt cheers. Kobe remained expressionless as he took the second ball and reset his stance. His wrist snapped again, and the ball dropped precisely through the hoop. "Swish—" The second free throw was good as well. He made both, cutting the score to 6-4.
The first quarter slowly unfolded amid that relentless physicality, every change of possession gripping the audience's nerves.
O'Neal had an extraordinarily difficult time under the basket against Li Fei one-on-one. The most dominant center in the league