So You Like Hack-a-Shaq, Huh?

"O'Neal went 3-for-8 from the free-throw line in the first quarter! Correspondingly, the Lakers' offensive rhythm was completely thrown into disarray. They began to worry that after running themselves open and preparing to shoot, the Spurs would foul again and render all their hard work running plays meaningless!"

"A smart tactic! Popovich turned Game 3 into a Hack-a-Shaq Strategy tutorial aimed at poor free-throw-shooting centers! Popovich has already been hailed as the best coach of the new generation. He led his team to the playoffs in each of his first two years, even reaching the Western Conference Finals in his second year! That kind of achievement is extraordinarily rare for a rookie coach!"

"O'Neal was helpless! Kobe was furious! The Lakers' OK twin stars were clearly emotionally shaken by Popovich's tactics!"

"At the end of the quarter, Lakers 19, Spurs 24! The Spurs took a five-point lead at home! This was also the first time in this season's playoffs that the Lakers had scored fewer than twenty points in the opening quarter!"

"The Hack-a-Shaq Strategy had succeeded completely! It would become the preferred tactic for other teams facing the Lakers in the future! OK's advantage would be infinitely diminished!"

"Though Popovich was not the first to invent the Hack-a-Shaq Strategy, he had clearly elevated it to a whole new level."

The Spurs' arena was deafening with noise!

Laughter!

Mockery!

Abuse rang out without end!

Meanwhile, Kobe's face was grim.

He remembered this score against Popovich!

Thinking about how a whole host of teams would use Hack-a-Shaq to torment him next season made Kobe deeply unhappy.

No!

They had to win this game!

If they lost, the Lakers would likely face an endless barrage of Hack-a-Shaq from then on.

Once it was proven that the Hack-a-Shaq Strategy could effectively defeat the