The Toughest Game!

"The two teams with the strongest bench units in the league had barely spent three minutes matching up their rotations before both sent their starters back in!"

"The regular season is a long test of a team's depth, but in the playoffs, no matter how strong the bench is, they'll still come up short against the opposing starters!"

"These old men from Houston are giving it everything they've got!" Magic Johnson's expression was grave. These veterans simply no longer had the stamina to play more than forty-five minutes in a game.

If they forced it, the risk of injury would increase dramatically. What little remained of their careers might even come to an abrupt end!

"This is the last glory of these veterans. They refuse to give up!"

"Even if they have to bleed out their last drop of blood, they'll defeat the Lakers! Defeat Kobe!"

"If they can't even beat the Lakers without O'Neal, it would hurt these old soldiers more than death!"

Kobe tugged at the elbow pad Pippen had pulled crooked.

This game was even tougher than he had imagined.

These veterans' willpower and desire to win were simply too strong! Whenever Kobe tried to take over and claw back the score in the second quarter, one of Houston's old guards would immediately step up and answer him!

The score rose back and forth! The Lakers had taken the lead several times through Kobe's surge.

But by the end of the second quarter, Houston still held firmly onto the lead.

At halftime, Houston led the Lakers 52–47.

"Old man, can you really keep this up for an entire game?" O'Neal sat courtside in an oversized suit and muttered in a voice only he could hear.

Hakeem was the absolute reason Houston had taken the lead!

He went