Take Over the Game

Shaquille O'Neal had been contained, and Harris could not think of a particularly good solution. In the NBA, when a coach could not come up with an answer, he handed the burden to his players.

Who would step up? Harris looked around and chose Kobe Bryant.

Harris believed the team's future star would solve the problem. Even if he failed, it would still be valuable experience for him. He called Kobe aside. "I need you to break the shackles locking down O'Neal. Do you understand what you need to do?"

"I understand, Coach." Kobe knew the team was only behind by single digits, a gap that was easy enough to overcome. The difficult part was overtaking the score while suppressing the opponent's momentum—and giving the somewhat dispirited Lakers players a much-needed boost.

Freeing up O'Neal offensively was simple. The hard part was getting the team rolling.

Halftime ended, and the players returned to the court. Harris took Ceballos out in the second half and brought in Bowen at small forward. He was worried Larry Johnson would blow Ceballos apart again; if that happened, this game would truly become hard to predict.

Harris did not dare take the risk. The regular season was long, and no team could stay undefeated. But if he let O'Neal lose to Ewing, the team's franchise player would definitely not take it well.

How did one keep a team's star player in good form? Let him play comfortably. When a star played comfortably, the team naturally got back on track. That was what West had told him—the rulebook for using O'Neal.

After switching ends, Kobe began running more pick-and-rolls with O'Neal. The results were not particularly outstanding, because Ewing and Oakley were camping in the paint, packing the interior full. After setting the screen, O'Neal simply could not roll to the basket for effective damage. The pick-and-roll's offensive power was cut in half, reduced to a play that could only create shooting room for Kobe.

Kobe knew that if they kept playing this way, the game would be decided in the fourth quarter. So he began giving the ball to Eddie Jones. Jones, who had not played especially well in the previous two games, seized his chance in the third quarter, repeatedly scoring on cuts and jumpers.

The midrange king Allan Houston was not much of a defender, and New York had shifted its defensive focus toward battling O'Neal inside. That gave Eddie Jones some excellent offensive opportunities.

On New York's side, the offense was still built around isolation plays from Allan Houston and Patrick Ewing. This New York team under Jeff Van Gundy was superb defensively, but they had not truly brought their stars together on offense. Larry Johnson in particular had far too little impact on that end.

Kobe was subbed out just past the midway point of the third quarter, leaving O'Neal to lead the reserves. Harris was determined to win this game, so he gave O'Neal extended minutes.

The interior defense pairing O'Neal with Ben Wallace was quite effective, but there was some conflict on offense. Ben Wallace, whose offensive ability was nearly nonexistent, was naturally a poor fit with O'Neal. Oakley could double-team O'Neal without any concern, leaving O'Neal struggling badly on the court.

Starks continued displaying his explosive scoring ability against the Lakers' reserve guards. By the end of the third quarter, he had gone 8-for-14 and scored 19 points off the bench.

Neither Van Exel nor Fisher could effectively contain him. Starks' speed was his greatest weapon. Having played alongside Ewing for many years, he understood how to perform at his best next to Ewing. That was something starters Allan Houston and Larry Johnson could not match.

Fortunately, the interior pairing of Ben Wallace and O'Neal firmly limited the New York Knicks' scoring in the paint, so the gap did not widen.

At the end of three quarters, the Lakers trailed the Knicks 73:78. Eddie Jones went 4-for-7 and earned four free throws, using 12 points in the quarter to preserve the Lakers' offensive efficiency in the third.

The decisive battle began in the fourth quarter, with O'Neal remaining on the floor to start it. Harris was preparing to have O'Neal play the entire second half. The Lakers lineup was PG Kobe Bryant, SG Eddie Jones, SF Bruce Bowen, PF Campbell, C Shaquille O'Neal.

The New York Knicks also kept Ewing on the floor. They knew that as long as Ewing sat, an unchecked O'Neal could rapidly rewrite the score.

Kobe had been waiting for an opportunity—one chance to turn defeat into victory in a single stroke. Now, it had arrived. After three quarters of physical warfare, the aging Ewing was beginning to have stamina issues. Perhaps he would not have too much trouble on offense or guarding O'Neal, but his help defense had declined.

This was what Kobe had been waiting for. He dribbled the ball across half court.

"ISO!" Kobe called for a play, and the floor spread wide open. Charlie Ward was left to guard Kobe one-on-one. Kobe had a hundred ways to score over this undersized point guard.

Kobe began with crossovers between his legs, but Charlie Ward, with his low center of gravity, did not bite on the fakes. But the moment Kobe accelerated, Charlie Ward's defense was blown apart. Kobe's drive was simple and effective; after Kobe sped up, Ward was quickly left behind.

"Help!" Charlie Ward shouted. He had no way to hold back the player charging into the paint like a black panther. Maybe it would have been possible in the well-rested first quarter, but why did this guy still have that kind of speed in the fourth?

Ewing held O'Neal in place and did not step up to help. Oakley left Campbell and rushed in front of Kobe at the first opportunity.

Kobe ignored him, gathered the ball, and took off in long strides!

Oakley's help defense came at exactly the right time. He jumped and crashed into Kobe in midair. He would rather give up a foul than allow Kobe an easy score in the paint.

Kobe and Oakley collided in the air. There was no doubt that the slender Kobe was sent flying by the powerful Oakley. But Kobe forcibly controlled his balance in midair, double-clutched to bring the ball back into his shooting range, then smoothly tossed it up before hitting the floor.

"Tweet! Basket counts, and one!" The referee blew his whistle at once. The play was too beautiful. Even a referee who had watched countless games could not help but be won over.

"Damn it. Kid, you'd better not step into the paint again." Oakley landed steadily and glared viciously at Kobe. He had actually let him make it. Two made free throws and a made 2+1 meant completely different things for the team. Being scored on for the 2+1 infuriated Oakley.

"Kid! You're an absolute beast!" O'Neal rushed over immediately and pulled Kobe up from the floor. Kobe had skillfully absorbed the impact as he landed and come down steadily.

"Be careful. They're playing a little dirty." Campbell stepped forward and warned Kobe. He was worried that New York's dirty-handed enforcers would injure their young prodigy.

"It's fine. This is only the beginning." Kobe's cold face showed not the slightest expression, as though he had not just made a play certain to land in the top ten.