Downwind

The New York Knicks' game against the Lakers was also nationally televised. After Shaquille O'Neal arrived in Los Angeles, the Lakers ranked behind only the Bulls and Knicks in number of national broadcasts.

This was a clash between two hugely popular teams, and the marquee matchup between 34-year-old Patrick Ewing and 24-year-old Shaquille O'Neal was eagerly anticipated. In this era when the paint was king and the four great centers ruled the league's interior, battles between the old and new generations of great centers always drew enormous attention.

Ewing had spent eleven years in the league. Though he made the All-Star team or All-NBA teams nearly every year, he had always been held down by one dynasty after another. When he first entered the league, the Celtics dominated the East; then came the Pistons' Bad Boys; then Jordan's Bulls dynasty. As a result, he had yet to experience the joy of touching the O'Brien Trophy.

This year's Knicks were loaded and had their sights set on the championship. Their roster was indeed strong enough to contend for that honor.

Ewing knew that he was nearing the end of his prime. If he could not win it all this year, his steadily declining body might never give him another chance to lift the trophy.

Ewing was an NBA ironman, averaging 75 games over eleven seasons and playing virtually every game each year. But he could feel his body declining. He might not notice it normally, but in crucial moments of games, he no longer had the stamina to put opponents away. At his peak, Ewing had averaged 28.6 points on 55% shooting; yet last season, despite not having many scorers around him, he had still managed only 22.5 points per game.

The game opened with Ewing and O'Neal battling physically in the paint. Fans who had not lived through this era could hardly imagine how brutal the interior battles were. Prehistoric-beast-sized giants going head-to-head in the paint was simply the norm.

O'Neal struck first, taking Kobe's pass for a dunk under the basket. Ewing answered with a turnaround jumper. The two elite centers were locked in a fierce first-quarter duel, trading blow for blow. Every other player around them became a supporting character.

The score remained extremely close in the first quarter, with the Lakers leading the Knicks 25-22. The Lakers' bench held a slight edge, and under Kobe's lead defense, Starks found it difficult to make an impact off the Knicks' bench. O'Neal went 4-for-8 for 8 points in the first quarter. He did not attempt a single free throw; Ewing had controlled the defensive physicality perfectly, making O'Neal uncomfortable without sending him to the line.

Ewing went 3-for-6 and also scored 8 points. He had no way to overpower O'Neal beneath the basket, so he had to rely on mid-range jumpers. Jump shooting depended heavily on touch, and Ewing had it working tonight. Even with O'Neal giving him intense physical contact, Ewing maintained his accuracy and knocked down his mid-range shots.

Kobe still served as a facilitator and defender with the starting lineup, but when he led the bench unit, he handed the playmaking duties to Derek Fisher and became the spearhead on both ends of the floor.

Under Van Gundy's direction, the Knicks played steadily and methodically, never giving Kobe opportunities to ignite transition offense.

After the first quarter, Kobe and O'Neal both went to the bench to rest.

Harris experimentally deployed a lineup of PG Derek Fisher, SG Van Eixcel, SF Ceballos, PF Ben Wallace, and C Tyrese. Harris was considering removing Van Eixcel and Ceballos from the starting lineup together, and he wanted to observe their performance.

Unexpectedly, Starks tore this lineup's defense apart. He drove inside and hit shots from outside, scoring repeatedly, while Ceballos remained painful to watch on offense. Harris had no choice but to bring the starters back in. By then, the lead had already changed hands.

The Knicks led the Lakers 36-32, and the second quarter was already more than halfway over. That was the score when Kobe returned to the floor, and the momentum had shifted to New York.

Seeing this, Ewing stopped holding the ball and began working an inside-out passing game. Under Eddie Jones' tight defense, Allan Houston somehow hit two consecutive three-pointers.

Sensing that the momentum was turning, Kobe called for O'Neal to step out. Using the pick-and-roll, he answered with a three-pointer of his own.

Kobe had a light defensive assignment in this game. The man he was guarding, Charlie Ward, was merely a dribble guard. A so-called dribble guard was a guard who brought the ball across half court, then handed it to the team's star to organize the offense.

This type of guard usually had decent ball-handling and three-point shooting ability. Charlie Ward could hit 1.4 threes per game on 38.6% shooting.

Kobe had no way to steal the ball from the 1.88-meter Charlie Ward, and he also had to keep a close eye on him at all times, wary of his three-point shooting and unable to help defensively.

So Kobe began exerting himself on offense. Charlie Ward was actually a solid defender; as the point guard of New York's hard-nosed gang, he could not possibly be a defensive liability. Yet Kobe could score over him with ease. As long as Kobe used O'Neal's screen or ran to a suitable spot, he could simply rise up and shoot. Charlie Ward had no way to disrupt Kobe's jumper.

Once Kobe began taking over, the score stabilized. At halftime, the Lakers trailed the Knicks 49-52. O'Neal and Ewing were the stars of the half: O'Neal had 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Ewing had 11 points and 4 rebounds.

It was clear that the aging Ewing had fallen slightly behind O'Neal. Although both players had scored through high volume and many attempts, O'Neal's scoring efficiency and rebounding protection were a level above Ewing's.

The deficit had emerged during Kobe's time on the bench. Without Kobe's lead defense, Allan Houston and John Starks used their hot shooting to punish the Lakers' weak spots.

Allan Houston went 5-for-9, including 2-for-3 from three, for 12 first-half points. Starks, meanwhile, put up an impressive 8 points and 4 assists in a short span while being defended by Van Eixcel.

In 13 minutes, Kobe efficiently scored 11 points and dished out 4 assists. Yet even with a plus-minus of +8, the Lakers still found themselves slightly behind.

The Lakers were somewhat frustrated at halftime. It was the first time they had trailed at the half all season. The Knicks' stacked roster could seize upon every defensive flaw the Lakers had and hammer away at it, with Ceballos and Van Eixcel becoming complete weak points.

O'Neal held a slight advantage in his battle with Ewing, but he could not dominate the paint as he had in previous games. With O'Neal unable to dominate inside, how should the team adjust? That question now lay before Harris.

There were quite a few teams capable of limiting O'Neal. Leaving aside the other great centers, every mainstream team in the league had at least one heavy, big-bodied interior bruiser stocked in the paint. Add double-teams and traps, and O'Neal would often struggle. This was also a problem he had already faced during his four years in Orlando; several sweeps had happened because O'Neal could not dominate the paint, throwing his team into chaos.

The New York Knicks' interior duo of Ewing and Oakley taught the Lakers' players and coaches a lesson: O'Neal was not invincible.