The Seed of the Galactic Battleship's Collapse!

"Game on!" As Crawford tossed the ball high into the air above the Great Western Forum, this pivotal showdown between the Lakers and the Jazz began!

"Things are intense right from the start!" Kenny Smith exclaimed.

Amid the thunderous cheers filling the Great Western Forum.

O'Neal tipped the ball to the Lakers, and Kobe, ball in hand, surged into the frontcourt like a gust of wind.

Eddie Jones and Bowen pulled out to the corners.

Horry facilitated from the top of the arc on the other side.

O'Neal planted himself in the paint!

This was the Lakers' standard opening set.

The variations that followed could be broken down into hundreds of possibilities. The more common ones were the Kobe-Horry pick-and-roll, the high lob into the post, and the Lakers shooters running zipper-action routes.

The OK Pick-and-Roll, meanwhile, was the kill shot! It generally only appeared in clutch moments!

"Mitch, want a big contract?" A faint smile curled at the corner of Kobe's mouth.

Richmond froze for a moment, then snorted disdainfully. Do I need your approval to get a big contract? It's not like I'm going to the Lakers!

Kobe moved!

The instant Richmond lost focus, Kobe used a front crossover to accelerate past him!

"Help!" Richmond let out the cry of a legendary defender!

"Fuck." Stockton cursed under his breath and slid over.

Kobe rose straight up without even leaning back.

A pull-up jumper!

A mid-range pull-up!

He simply ignored Stockton's defense and drilled it.

Stockton clenched his teeth hard. As Kobe scored, he casually threw an elbow, pretending it had been unintentional.

Kobe remained expressionless.

For a moment, Stockton wondered whether he had truly gotten old. Had even his elbows lost their former power?

"Something's off. The Jazz's defense doesn't seem right." Magic Johnson spotted the issue. Were