Catching Eagles

Mutombo was furious. He had always been the one wagging a finger at others; this was the first time he had felt the anger of having a finger wagged at him. This kid was going too far!

"Kid, you've pissed me off. The Hawks' paint will become your grave. I'll make you regret this," Mutombo threatened. In this era, if you didn't talk some trash, everyone would think you were soft and bully you even harder.

"Block me once. I know you can do it. Come on, softie, give it a try." Kobe showed no fear in the trash-talking battle.

"WOWOWOWO, take it easy." O'Neal stepped in as peacemaker. Mutombo did not want to lose both the game and face, so he snorted and turned back to defend. He did not see Ben Wallace and Bowen already lurking behind him. Ben Wallace had recently learned many new tricks from Bowen, who had opened the door to a whole new world for Big Ben.

"Kobe, dunk on his head," O'Neal said as he walked over to Kobe, quietly stirring things up.

"Hey, Shaq, why don't you dunk on him?" Kobe had a baffled look on his face.

"Then we'll each dunk on him once. You go first."

"Fuck." Kobe really had no answer for this fat bastard. They had only just turned the momentum around, and he was already looking to start trouble. Mutombo was currently the best interior defender in the league; challenging him head-on was not something Kobe could pull off yet. O'Neal definitely wanted to see Kobe embarrass himself, then play the hero and save both him and the team.

Going at Mutombo was out of the question. Posterizing an aging, exhausted Ewing was completely different from attacking a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber defender. At least for now, Kobe was not about to go looking for trouble.

The Hawks continued moving the ball around. With no better options, they gave it to Laettner, whose touch had been hot in the first half. Laettner looked at Ben Wallace, who was nearly ten centimeters shorter than him, and thought, You can contest my jumper, but can you stop my post-up?

Laettner turned and slammed into him with all his strength. Big Ben kept one hand firmly on Laettner's waist, and his center of gravity did not even budge.

After two bumps, Laettner realized something was wrong and turned for a jumper. But Big Ben had been waiting for this all along. He rose to contest it, and the ball missed.

This was bad. Seeing the Hawks fall into a scoring drought, Wilkens truly wished the Hawks had a healthy Wilkins to break the deadlock.

The Hawks were hit with a 21-11 run by the Lakers in the third quarter. The Lakers' offensive efficiency was not especially high either, but the Hawks simply could not score against the Lakers' defense. After three quarters, the score stood at 63-66. The Lakers had come back to take a three-point lead.

Though the lead was only three points, the situation on the court had completely changed. The Hawks had no way to crack the Lakers' defense and could only hope the Lakers' players would run out of stamina. But for a Lakers team with an average age of just twenty-three, that was not a problem at all.

The reserves had played only briefly near the end of the third quarter. For the fourth, both coaches brought their starters back in without any prior agreement. From here on out, it was a fight to the death.

The fourth quarter began with Kobe lobbing the ball to O'Neal. Mutombo leaned into him hard, while Laettner abandoned Ben Wallace to come over with help defense. O'Neal did not want to risk a turnover by forcing the attack, so he kicked it out to Kobe.

Kobe signaled for Eddie Jones to move, and Eddie Jones curled around to get open. Kobe delivered the ball right on time. Eddie Jones buried the mid-range jumper.

The Hawks tried changing tactics. They wanted to use the undersized Blaylock to isolate against Kobe, which was clearly a desperate move. Blaylock threw out a series of exaggerated fakes, but Kobe did not budge. Blaylock was helpless. He was not fast enough to blow past Kobe, and Kobe kept his defensive balance without biting on the fakes. What else could he do?

With the shot clock about to expire, Blaylock had no choice but to rise for a jumper.

Smack. Another beautiful block. Blaylock was simply too short compared to Kobe and had no room at all to get off a jumper.

"Fast break!" Eddie Jones scooped up the ball and raced toward the other end, with Steve Smith chasing hard behind him. Eddie Jones did not force the layup. He faked one, then fired a behind-the-back pass to the trailing Kobe.

Kobe soared high, his head rising above the rim. He stretched out in midair and hammered the ball through with a massive windmill.

The Great Western Forum erupted in thunderous cheers. Kobe's performance had been spectacular. Blocks and monster dunks were the surest way to ignite the crowd's adrenaline.

Kobe's shooting touch had not been good in this game, but that did not stop him from playing brilliantly. His playmaking, defensive blocks, and fast-break dunks all fired up the team.

Watching that sequence on both ends, Wilkens thought, This game is probably beyond saving.

And that was indeed the case. The Lakers came out blazing in the fourth quarter. Their young players seemed to have endless energy on both ends of the floor, especially with Eddie Jones catching fire, which slightly improved the Lakers' cramped offensive spacing.

Kobe spotted an opening and drove into the paint. Mutombo's eyes immediately lit up as he rotated over to help.

This was exactly the help defense Kobe had been waiting for. The fish had taken the bait. He lofted the ball high into the air, and O'Neal rose beneath the basket, ignoring Laettner's help defense as he smashed the ball through with both hands like a depth charge. The referee blew the whistle—2+1.

"You don't dare challenge me head-on, do you? Soft kid," Mutombo glared at Kobe.

"Maybe you should guard your own man first, old man. I'm a point guard. Shaq's already got nearly thirty points." Kobe shrugged.

That was right—this guy was a point guard. Passing was what he was supposed to do. Kobe's words left Mutombo feeling rather stifled.

O'Neal missed his ugly free throw, but it no longer mattered. The Lakers' offense had found its rhythm, their defense remained solid, and the Hawks seemed trapped in an invisible net, unable to spread their wings and fly again.

The game ended with the Lakers completing their comeback in the second half and taking the win. Final score: Hawks 78, Lakers 91.

For the game, Kobe went 6-for-14, posting 15 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. The numbers were not particularly flashy, and his poor shooting touch had left him struggling somewhat on offense.

Shaquille O'Neal put up a dominant 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks against Mutombo. Mutombo did not disrupt him much; if O'Neal had not shared the court with Ben Wallace in the second half, he could have scored even more, though whether the Lakers would still have won was another matter.

Eddie Jones had a good touch tonight, finishing with 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. No other Lakers player reached double figures. Their offense still lacked the ability to operate smoothly.

For the Hawks, Laettner and Steve Smith had stood out in the first half, but their efficiency dropped sharply in the second. They scored 17 and 15 points respectively. Mutombo had 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

The worst off was Blaylock, who had been matched up with Kobe. Against Kobe's full-on defense, he went 1-for-7 and scored only two points on a lucky mid-range shot.

"Guys, celebrate this win!" Rambis high-fived every player as they came off the court. The hard-earned victory had left Rambis fired up as he watched from the sideline.