June 14, Staples Center Los Angeles.
The Boston Celtics lead the series 2-1.
Game 4 of the 2000 NBA NBA Finals is about to begin.
Before the game, Staples Center was packed. Los Angeles fans waved golden inflatable sticks and cheered for their team at the top of their lungs. For the Lakers, this was a do-or-die game with no room for error.
"Beep!!!"
The referee tossed the ball into the air, and O'Neal flicked it back to his half of the court, officially starting the game.
The Lakers ' first possession.
As soon as Fisher brought the ball across half the court, the entire 20,000 -Staples crowd immediately stood up.
Inside the penalty area, O'Neal dropped deep into his stance, leaving Mutombo behind, and raised his right hand, loudly calling for the ball. If the ball were to be lofted in, that position would be an absolute stomp.
But on the right wing, Kobe Brian stepped forward and took possession of the ball from Fisher.
Kobe dribbled the ball and glanced at the paint. O'Neal was in excellent position; even Garnett on the weak side hadn't had time to collapse into the paint.
But Kobe didn't pass the ball.
He lowered his center of gravity slightly, and facing Eddie Jones's suffocating defense, he suddenly changed direction and forced his way into the penalty area from the right wing. Garnett saw this and immediately abandoned his defender to move sideways to block him.
The moment the three players surrounded him, O'Neal was completely open under the basket. The Big Shark raised his hands high, signaling for a pass.
Kobe still didn't pass. Facing Garnett's block, he forcibly twisted his body and awkwardly chose to take a fadeaway jump shot in mid-air.
"Bang!"
The basketball bounced off the rim and Mutombo easily grabbed the rebound.
Kobe landed, frowning as he glanced at the basket. Under the basket, O'Neal, having missed his post, didn't say a word, but silently lowered his raised hands, turning away to defend without expression.
On the NBC commentary booth, Isiah Thomas immediately spotted the problem. " Kobe's shot selection was terrible. Shaq had an absolute mismatch under the basket, and he refused to pass the ball to a triple team?"
This is merely a microcosm of this bizarre competition.
In the transition between offense and defense, Garnett hit a mid-range jumper after a screen, making it 0-2.
The Lakers once again fell into a half-court offense. This time, Fisher ignored Kobe's outstretched hand for the ball and instead strictly executed the Triangle Offense offense, lobbing the ball directly to O'Neal in the left low post.
O'Neal receives the ball with his back to the basket.
"Bang!"
A heavy impact sent Mutombo staggering back half a step.
Just as Big Shark was about to launch his second attack, Garnett immediately collapsed the defense from the weak side to double-team him!
But tonight, O'Neal seemed like a completely different person. The interior tyrant who only had eyes for the basket in Game 3 showed an extremely calm and strategic mindset tonight.
The instant Garnett double-teamed him, O'Neal flicked his wrist, precisely throwing the ball towards the left baseline corner, which was completely open due to the double-team.
Fisher catches the ball, with no one within three meters of him.
"Whoosh!"
A three-pointer swished through the net! 3-2!
The crowd erupted in cheers. O'Neal strode back on defense with a powerful stride and gave Fisher a heavy high-five. But he didn't even glance at Kobe, as if his teammate in the number 8 jersey didn't exist.
At opposite ends of the court, it was as if two completely different movies were unfolding.
When the ball was in O'Neal's hands, the Lakers executed a highly efficient Triangle Offense. Whenever the Celtics double-teamed, O'Neal could always find Peja and Fisher open on the perimeter immediately.
But when the ball gets into Kobe's hands, the game instantly turns into an extremely stubborn one-on-one, or even one-on-many battle.
In the 7th minute of the first quarter, Kobe received the ball on the right wing and once again ignored O'Neal's outstretched hand for the ball in the paint. He forced his way past Jones ' defense, and facing Garnett's help defense, he stopped abruptly and attempted a fadeaway jumper, but missed.
In the 11th minute of the first quarter, Kobe made a strong drive down the left flank, and despite Mutombo's attempt to block, he pulled up for a layup, but the ball didn't even touch the rim.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 15-12, with the Celtics leading on the road.
The statistics panel appeared on the broadcast screen, and fans across the United States gasped.
Shaquille O'Neal: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists. Kobe: 0 points! 0-for-5 shooting!
"That's outrageous." Bob Costas shook his head repeatedly as he looked at the stat sheet. " Kobe was like he was fighting against himself today. He only had eyes for the basket, completely ignoring Shaq in the paint."
"That's the problem," Isiah Thomas pointed out incisively. " Kobe and Shaq were completely playing their own game today. Shaq was trying to prove he was a leader who could lead the whole team, while Kobe seemed eager to prove he could score without Shaq drawing attention."
Sitting on the sidelines, Lin Qi looked at the statistics on the big screen, leaned back slightly in his chair, and took a sip of water.
Everything was going according to plan. The overwhelming media controversy following the third match had thoroughly wounded the pride of these two paranoid individuals.
In the second quarter, Kobe's obsession intensified.
In the third minute of the second quarter, Kobe broke through on the right wing, pulled up for a jump shot, and finally swished it through the net, scoring his first point of the game. After going 0-for-5 from the field, this basket brought a burst of cheers from the Staples Center.
But Kobe's face remained expressionless. He didn't interact with anyone, simply retreating silently on defense.
In the very next possession, O'Neal overpowered Mutombo in the low post, completing a brutal two-handed dunk despite being double-teamed. After landing, O'Neal roared to the sky, pounding his chest in fury. But he also completely avoided looking in Kobe's direction.
Two superstars are punishing Boston's defense in two completely different ways. But between them lies an invisible rift.
In the 12th minute of the second quarter, this bizarre standoff reached its climax.
Kobe received the ball at the top of the key, and facing Gary Payton's tight defense, he suddenly accelerated into the paint! Facing Mutombo's help defense, O'Neal Jr. was wide open under the basket, frantically waved for the ball.
But Kobe still didn't pass. He forced his way up to lay up against Mutombo.
"Smack!"
With a muffled thud, Mutombo swatted away the barely made layup. Garnett grabbed the rebound and, without hesitation, launched a long pass down the court.
Eddie Jones catches the ball on a fast break and slams it home with a one-handed dunk!
42-36!
The Celtics have extended their lead to 6 points!
Seeing Kobe retreating on defense, O'Neal finally couldn't hold back any longer. The Big Shark stood near the free-throw line, spread his hands, and shook his head in Kobe's direction with utter incomprehension.
Kobe gave him a cold glance, remaining silent.
The halftime whistle blows.
The Boston Celtics went into the locker room with a 46-41 lead.
The halftime statistics became irrefutable evidence that the Lakers' locker room conflicts had become completely public:
O'Neal: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists! (7 of 8 shooting, 87.5% field goal percentage)
Kobe: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists! (2-for-11 shooting, 18.1% field goal percentage)
On the NBC commentary booth, two well-known commentators shook their heads repeatedly.
"These are incredible statistics." Isiah Thomas frowned. " Shaq delivered five exquisite assists in the first half, to Fisher and Peja. But he didn't pass the ball to Kobe once."
"And Kobe's 11 forced shots, not a single assist..." Bob Costas chimed in, "On a stage like the NBA Finals, the two core players didn't even exchange a single glance; it was practically handing Boston a gift!"
In the away team's locker room, Doc Rivers looked at the halftime statistics, still somewhat unable to believe his eyes.
"Are they really arguing with each other on the court?" Thibodeau's eyes widened, finding it somewhat absurd.
Lin Qi tossed the technical statistics sheet in his hand onto the tactical table with a soft thud.
"Don't underestimate the ego of superstars, especially when they all think they're the boss of Los Angeles." Lin Qi stated calmly, simply presenting reality from a manager's perspective.
He turned to Doc Rivers and the coaching staff. " Doc, change your defensive strategy in the second half. Cut off their inside-outside connection."
Next, he set his sights on Eddie Jones and Gary Payton.
"When Kobe gets the ball, defend him one-on-one. Give him the highest level of physical contact, force him to take those difficult two-point shots, but absolutely, absolutely do not double-team him."
Lin Qi tapped his finger heavily on the whiteboard. "Once you double-team him, he might be forced to pass the ball inside. We need to make him feel like he can single-handedly dismantle our entire defense."
"Keep the score close." Lin Qi looked at his players, who were poised to unleash their full potential, and issued the most ruthless tactical order. "As long as the score doesn't widen, in the crucial fourth quarter, that number 8 will hold onto the ball tightly."