Compared with the thrilling conference semifinals—two Game 7s and two six-game series—the conference finals were rather one-sided.
Indiana had truly spent everything in their bloody battle with Philadelphia. In particular, Stern, determined to prevent any further violence from the Indiana Pacers, called fouls against them relentlessly, making the situation completely lopsided.
After all, Indiana and Philadelphia had delivered the most violent playoff incident in recent years. Though no one had been injured, in today's increasingly modernized and globalized NBA, the impact of such violence was simply too damaging.
And Ron Artest's elbow had been the fuse that ignited it all. The Indiana Pacers, and especially Ron Artest, probably would not receive much goodwill from referees from now on.
On the other side, O'Neal, who had made such bold declarations, had once again come close to being swept.
1:4.
If the Spurs had not failed to put in their small-ball lineup in G1, O'Neal would likely have added another sweep to his career record.
Even so, the 1:4 result firmly nailed O'Neal to the pillar of shame.
"Lakers 3:4 Spurs.
Houston 1:4 Spurs.
Lakers = 3 Houstons.
Kobe = 3 O'Neals."
O'Neal's formula on Twitter had countless people laughing themselves silly.
O'Neal had still performed superbly in the series, putting up 32.5 points, 13.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.3 blocks, 0.2 steals, and 3.2 turnovers on 57.6% shooting.
But Duncan had been no less impressive, averaging 28.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 3.1 blocks, 0.5 steals, and 2.7 turnovers.
More importantly, the Spurs' small-ball lineup had completely torn apart Houston on both ends of the floor. Duncan had merely been the hub, the one who made the entire Spurs machine turn.
After finishing their final game against the Lakers, the Spurs seemed to have leveled up after slaying a monster, rising to