After Jordan's mental transformation, his focus on defense improved dramatically.
He abandoned wasteful exertion, only turning up the defensive pressure and organizing the offense in crucial possessions.
The veteran's experience and composure allowed him to perfectly compensate for his lack of stamina.
By the end of the third quarter, the two teams remained locked together, separated by only two points.
Fans throughout the arena watched with bated breath, every offensive and defensive possession tugging at their hearts.
Everyone thought the game would come down to a game-winning shot on the final possession.
But at the start of the fourth quarter, Van Gundy finally unveiled his trump card.
It targeted the Lakers' greatest weakness: O'Neal's poor free-throw shooting.
The entire league knew that The Big Shark's free-throw percentage hovered around fifty percent.
His unreliable free throws had always been the biggest fatal flaw of his career.
They were also the Lakers' only Achilles' heel in an intense NBA Finals chess match.
With one minute and twenty seconds gone in the fourth quarter, the Knicks were the first to initiate their tactic.
Their interior players actively sought contact, deliberately drawing defensive fouls from O'Neal.
Van Gundy's tactical arrangement was simple, brutal, and incomparably lethal.
Since they could not contain the OK Duo's scoring in live play,
they would use a foul-and-free-throw strategy to forcibly disrupt the Lakers' offensive rhythm.
On the first foul, O'Neal stepped to the free-throw line.
His first attempt rattled off the rim, while his second barely swished through.
He made one of two, and the Lakers got only one point as their rhythm was thoroughly disrupted.
The Lakers' offensive surge, which had been steadily building, came to an abrupt halt.
Kobe's newly found offensive touch was forcibly cooled off.
Just half a minute later, the Knicks used the