June 16, 2000, Staples Center Los Angeles.
The score is tied 2-2, the fifth NBA Finals, the battle for supremacy.
On this pivotal night in the series, the nation's media attention was focused on the widening rifts within the Lakers organization.
The Los Angeles Times featured a front-page photo of Kobe and O'Neal standing back-to-back, accompanied by the simple headline. " The OK Duo, are they still OK?"
At ESPN's pre-game roundtable, the commentators were debating the same thing: Whose team is playing at Staples tonight?
Lakers locker room.
The atmosphere before the match was unusually quiet.
Kobe sat alone in front of the locker in the far corner, eyes closed, trying to calm himself. His face was expressionless, but his clenched fists betrayed the turmoil within him. The overwhelming accusations of "selfishness" and "ruining the team" challenged his extremely proud self-esteem. But he would not bow his head, much less admit that he was wrong. He would prove tonight that he was the team's most crucial scoring option with a victory.
At the other end of the locker room, O'Neal was tying his shoelaces with a blank expression.
In the last game, he only got four shot attempts in the second half, spending most of his time running back and forth in the paint. This greatly frustrated the league's top center. He glanced at Kobe in the corner, his eyes filled with barely suppressed anger.
Phil Jackson stood in front of the whiteboard, looking at the starting lineup with a furrowed brow.
"The starting lineup has been slightly adjusted tonight," Jackson's voice broke the silence. " Derrick ( Fisher ), Kobe, Peja, A.C. Green, and Shaq."
At the end of the bench, O'Neal Jr. hung his head in anguish. In the previous few games, facing the Celtics ' formidable interior depth, he was completely overwhelmed on both ends of the court by the rotation of Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, and Mutombo, with his average stats plummeting to a paltry 6 points and 4 rebounds. Under the intense physicality of the NBA Finals, Jackson had no choice but to start the 36-year-old veteran A.C. Green in his place.
While Green's offensive threat is limited, he is experienced and doesn't hog the ball. More importantly, he won't disrupt the already chemistry-lacking OK Duo on the court.
But Jackson knew in his heart that minor adjustments to the roster were only a temporary solution; the team's problem lay in the mind of its core players.
The away team's locker room.
The atmosphere on the Celtics ' side was tense and focused.
" The Lakers have changed their starting lineup. O'Neal Jr. has been dropped, and A.C. Green has come in," Doc Rivers said, looking at the roster sent over from the scorer's table.
"As expected. O'Neal Jr. has been relentlessly attacked on both ends of the court by Kevin, Rasheed, and Dikembe. The paint has been completely breached, forcing Phil to bring in veterans to stabilize the game." Lin Qi leaned against the table. "But this also means that the Lakers ' offensive anchor in the paint is now only Shaq."
"Continue with the defensive strategy from Game 4." Lin Qi straightened up, his tone calm but unwavering. "One-on-one against Kobe, fronting him and double-teaming Shaq. They're suspicious of each other now, and we need to take advantage of that."
Then, Lin Qi turned his head and looked at Chris Paul Pierce, who was wrapping his wrists with straps.
" Chris Paul," Lin Qi said, "Today is your chance. Peja simply can't guard you, and even if Kobe were to guard you, you need to dominate on offense."
Pierce stopped what he was doing, looked up, and gave a confident smile.
"Don't worry, Lin." Pierce cracked his neck. "He's been doing those high-intensity drills with Ron ( Artest ) in the gym every day, and I've even studied Kobe's defensive tapes."
Lin Qi nodded, then turned his gaze to the 19-year-old rookie sitting at the end of the bench.
" Artest, be ready at any time," Lin Qi instructed. "You have your chance to perform today."
Artest nodded vigorously.
At 8 p. m. sharp, the opening whistle blew.
The 20,000 fans at Staples Center rose to their feet and cheered. Mutombo won the jump ball, and the pivotal Game 5 officially began.
The Celtics ' first attack.
Gary Payton dribbled up the court and passed the ball directly to Pierce on the left wing. Facing Peja's defense, Pierce didn't waste any time probing; after a series of crossover steps, he suddenly dropped his shoulder and accelerated. Peja's lateral movement was a fraction of a second too slow, and Pierce used his strength advantage to break into the paint, facing O'Neal's help defense, and finished with a reverse layup in mid-air.
"Whoosh!"
Boston takes the lead 2-0.
Offense and defense transition, Lakers on offense.
Fisher passed the ball to Kobe at the top of the key. Facing Eddie Jones, Kobe lowered his center of gravity and tried to use his speed to drive past him.
But Eddie Jones' positioning was extremely shrewd. He accurately judged Kobe's starting direction, not only avoiding being beaten, but also using his strong physicality to force Kobe's drive into the help defense's trap inside the paint.
Kobe, with Jones closely guarding him, struggled to drive to the free-throw line. Facing Garnett, who immediately collapsed towards him, Kobe, with almost no space to shoot, ignored O'Neal's positioning under the basket and forced a jump fadeaway jumper.
"Bang!" The basketball slammed through the rim, and Mutombo calmly caught the rebound.
On the NBC commentary desk, Isiah Thomas said, " Eddie Jones ' defense was outstanding. His defensive tenacity and positioning perfectly limited Kobe's starting space."
Turning back, the Celtics continued to punish the Lakers ' defense.
Pierce faced Peja again. The change in rhythm threw Peja off balance, and Pierce broke into the penalty area. In the instant that O'Neal was drawing his defense, he passed the ball to Garnett in the right corner.
"Whoosh!"
Garnett hits a mid-range jumper. 4-0.
On the other hand, the Lakers' offense also got bogged down.
Kobe also faced a relentless onslaught on the perimeter in Boston, which took a heavy toll. Gary Payton and Jones relentlessly took turns guarding him, and the constant physical contact caused Kobe's first three forced shots to miss.
The situation inside was even more oppressive. Garnett and Mutombo constructed a well-defined defensive formation against O'Neal. Their resolute fronting, low-body defense, and positioning to disrupt high lobs forced O'Neal to expend energy in physical battles deep in the paint, making it difficult for him to find comfortable space to receive the ball.
To be fair, under Boston's extreme collapsing defense, even if Kobe wanted to execute a play by lobbing the ball towards the inside, the passing lane had been cut off to an extremely narrow extent.
Less than halfway through the first quarter, Celtics Pierce started strong with another fast-break dunk, making it 10-2 and forcing the Lakers to call a timeout.
After the timeout, Kobe proactively changed his matchup.
"I'll guard him," Kobe yelled at Peja, switching onto Pierce.
Similar in age and build... 22-year-old Pierce and 21-year-old Kobe, two of the league's top new generation of swingmen, faced off in a true head-to-head battle on the NBA Finals stage.
Pierce lowered his center of gravity while holding the ball, dribbling between his legs repeatedly to find his rhythm. Suddenly, he lowered his shoulder and made a very deceptive crossover.
Kobe's defensive instincts kicked in instantly, and he immediately moved to the left to block. But in the instant his center of gravity shifted, Pierce followed up with an extremely smooth behind-the-back dribble.
Kobe's steps froze on the spot, his defensive stance a full half-beat slower.
By repeatedly dissecting the videotapes before the game, and through hundreds of targeted practice sessions with Artest in the training facility, Pierce had already memorized Kobe's habit of shifting his center of gravity when facing a change of direction.
Without the slightest hesitation, he tore through Kobe's defense and drove straight into the paint from the right. Facing O'Neal coming over to help defend inside, Pierce displayed excellent core strength in the air, and against the Big Shark's long arms, he deftly banked the ball in.
12-2. The noise at Staples Center has subsided considerably.
"The rhythm is perfect," Bob Costas commented. " Chris Paul Pierce's offensive rhythm is flawless; he's successfully shifted Kobe's defensive focus."
Trailing in the standings made Kobe even more persistent on offense, trying to use his individual skills to open up the game as soon as he got the ball. However, Boston's defense did not give him any easy space to shoot.
The first quarter ended with the Celtics leading 25-10 on the road, a 15-point advantage.
Pierce scored 13 points in the quarter; while Kobe only made 2 of 7 shots, scoring 4 points. O'Neal only managed 4 points from an offensive rebound and putback.
Entering the second quarter, the Lakers ' offensive connection still hadn't recovered.
With 9 minutes left in the second quarter, Kobe had the ball on the right wing. O'Neal in the paint got a good position and firmly boxed out Mutombo.
O'Neal raised his hand and shouted for the ball.
Kobe glanced at the paint and hesitated for a second. In that brief pause, Garnett had already moved from the weak side into position, instantly forming a double team.
Seeing the double team forming, Kobe opted for a one-on-one attack. He forced a pull-up jumper over Jones's tight defense.
"Bang!"
Another missed shot.
The broadcast cameras captured O'Neal's expression.
He lowered his raised arm, his body language extremely negative. He didn't rush for the rebound, nor did he quickly retreat on defense; he simply watched Kobe's back with a blank expression as he slowly walked back to the backcourt.
When Kobe finally managed to pass the ball inside amidst a double team, the timing was already terrible.
With two minutes left in the second quarter, O'Neal was tightly double-teamed by Mutombo and Garnett in the low post, making it almost impossible for him to turn around. Kobe passed the ball in, and O'Neal barely received it under double-team pressure, forcing a hook shot that went wide.
After landing, O'Neal glanced at the perimeter, his eyes revealing obvious frustration. He only passed the ball after a double team was formed, making it impossible for O'Neal to finish comfortably.
The buzzer sounded as Pierce drew a foul and made both free throws before halftime.
The Boston Celtics went into the locker room with a 19-point lead, 49-30.
The halftime statistics clearly revealed the reasons for the Lakers' collapse.
Chris Paul Pierce: 22 points, 5 rebounds (9-for-13 shooting), he was extremely efficient on both ends of the court.
Kobe Brian: 12 points, 1 assist (5-for-16 shooting), field goal percentage only 31.3%.
Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal: 10 points, 0 assists (5-for-6 shooting). Despite a high shooting percentage, he only took 6 shots in the first half.
Lakers locker room.
No one spoke in the locker room; only the players' heavy breathing could be heard.
Kobe sat alone in a corner, covering his face with a towel. He was frustrated by his 5-for-16 shooting performance in the first half and his inability to contain Pierce on defense. But he still believed that he could make the shots if he could get his touch.
On the other end, O'Neal looked at the statistics sheet handed to him by his assistant coach.
"Six attempts..."
He repeated it under his breath, then crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it on the ground.
He stood up, without saying a word, picked up a new towel, went straight into the bathroom, and closed the door.
Phil Jackson stood in the center of the locker room, watching this team that lacked communication. A 19-point deficit wasn't insurmountable, but the isolation between the two key players rendered any tactical adjustments meaningless.
The away team's locker room.
"Well done, Chris Paul." Garnett patted Pierce on the shoulder. "You shut him down on both ends of the court today."
Pierce, icing his knee, said, "We need to keep this up in the second half; they're definitely going to come back."
Lin Qi stood in front of the tactics board and gestured for everyone to be quiet.
"19 points isn't enough for the Lakers. Lakers 'll definitely launch a fierce comeback in the second half."
Lin Qi turned his head and looked towards the end of the bench.
" Artest, warm up."