Chapter 295: Chapter 75: Taking Game 2
However, when the topic turned to Karl Malone, he became quite talkative. "...Karl Malone can’t learn to protect the ball. Back in the day, Michael and I would steal it from him, and now Little Sheep Su Xi steals it from him. It’s not a good thing for any team he’s on to make it to the Finals."
Pippen didn’t like Malone.
Because Malone had compared Su Xi to Pippen.
Besides, Malone’s reputation among the superstars of their generation was probably the worst.
Charles Barkley was sitting next to him. The fact that he wasn’t kicking Malone while he was down was a testament to his professionalism.
In fact, even Kenny Smith disliked Karl Malone; he had also been on the receiving end of Malone’s iron elbows.
Malone had injured countless people throughout his career.
His pair of iron elbows had left so many with lifelong regrets.
Therefore, there were a great many people who didn’t want to see Karl Malone win a championship.
The game continued.
Both sides entered a phase of back-and-forth action.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal managed to find some chemistry. As long as they stuck to the game plan, their offensive output was not an issue.
However, their problems on the defensive end were a bit more significant.
First, Su Xi, Reggie Miller, and Artest were repeatedly hitting shots from the perimeter. As the Lakers tightened their perimeter defense, Su Xi started driving relentlessly into the paint... Karl Malone was a good defensive player, but he was old. Shaquille O’Neal had all the physical gifts for defense, but he had no way of stopping Su Xi.
Su Xi established a threat in the paint, which in turn got his teammates involved.
The Pacers’ offense was firing on all cylinders again.
What frustrated the Lakers fans even more was that when Su Xi went to the bench to rest seven minutes into the first quarter, the Lakers also had to bring in their rotation players.
Their team was relatively old.
They didn’t have a bench as deep as the Pistons.
In contrast, the Pacers could still maintain a high level of offense and defense even without Su Xi.
Kenny Smith wasn’t as agitated tonight as he was in the last game because he found that neither criticizing nor praising the Pacers seemed to make them any weaker.
The Lakers and the Pacers went back and forth.
Before the game, some basketball experts had drawn a red line, believing that if the Lakers weren’t leading by 10 points by the middle of the second quarter, their risk of losing would exceed 50%.
But six minutes into the second quarter, the Pacers were still ahead by one point.
Su Xi was still on the bench, and from the looks of Carlisle, there was no urgent plan to put him back in.
But in the next few possessions, Kobe Bryant suddenly went into scoring mode. He repeatedly drew fouls and made all sorts of difficult shots, showcasing his spectacular and incredibly versatile scoring skills.
This put Su Xi on high alert. He worried that Kobe was about to unlock a super offensive talent.
Once Kobe awakened this post-celestial super talent, his abilities would skyrocket, and the Lakers’ strength would surge along with him.
This meant they would truly have two dominant superstars.
Although Shaquille O’Neal’s dominance had declined from his peak, he was still the most powerful and capable super center in the league today.
And once Kobe developed his post-celestial super talent, he would leapfrog to become the number one perimeter superstar in the league, a scorer at the very pinnacle of history.
If that happened, the Lakers’ chances of winning would increase dramatically.
’On one hand, he was looking forward to Kobe’s breakthrough, because he would be able to copy some of that talent for himself.’
’On the other hand, he didn’t want Kobe to break through so quickly. He wanted to win the championship; he needed the championship trophy to sustain his energy. Plus, the Finals MVP award would also net him another 20 million in prize money.’
Su Xi was subbed in with only two minutes left in the second quarter.
Because even though Kobe Bryant had gone on a rampage, scoring both inside and out, the Pacers hadn’t let the deficit grow too large.
The Pacers were only down by five when Su Xi checked in.
Five seconds after he stepped onto the court, that deficit became two points.
Su Xi feigned a drive, and as Derek Fisher instinctively backed off, he pulled up and shot... sinking the ball from a meter behind the three-point line.
It was definitely a gamble of a shot.
But Su Xi always won.
Then, under Su Xi’s leadership, the Pacers successfully stopped another of Kobe’s offensive possessions.
After the missed shot—a brick—O’Neal reminded Kobe that he could have passed the ball to him.
Kobe, however, reminded O’Neal, "My shot *is* an assist. When two guys double-team me, that means it’s four of you against three of them for the rebound."
"Can’t four guys grab a rebound against three?"
Kobe, the master mathematician.
But he couldn’t provide O’Neal with any emotional support, just like Artest. The only difference was that Artest would at least try to please everyone with his singing, while Kobe just had a cold, icy face.
When things were going relatively smoothly, the OK Combination played decently enough.
But as soon as they ran into trouble, they would start blaming each other. Neither of them was the type to reflect on their own mistakes.
This made Karl Malone very upset.
Because he realized he seemed to have backed the wrong horse again.
What was even more infuriating was that he realized he couldn’t be the strong one himself.
Because Su Xi completely neutralized him.
Su Xi’s movement at the top of the arc made him cautious even at the free-throw line. When he got the ball, he was hesitant and constrained.
That was why, on the final possession of the second quarter, he rushed a shot that ended up being an airball.
He was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
Although he sounded forceful and confident in the media, acting as if he didn’t take Su Xi seriously at all, the truth was, he was afraid of Su Xi.
56-55.
Thanks to Su Xi checking in at the last moment, the Pacers once again took the lead at halftime.
"The Lakers don’t really look like a modern team right now," Scottie Pippen said earnestly. "Gary Payton is useful on defense, but he’s a negative on offense. He just doesn’t fit into the triangle offense at all."
He knew the triangle offense inside and out—he was a certified authority. "There’s not a huge problem with Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal playing this way, it’s just that their efficiency isn’t very high tonight."
"Karl Malone isn’t serving as a proper hub. If he could play a key role like he did in the West Finals, it would be easy for the Lakers to win."
"The Pacers’ defense is incredibly tough, and they have great chemistry. Their overall talent might only be a 90, but they’re playing like a 95. The Lakers might have a 93 or 94 in talent, but they’re playing at a 91 at best."
Scottie Pippen said, "Maybe things will be different when they go back to their home court. But tonight, their chances of winning are lower than the Pacers’."
Before the series began, optimistic Lakers fans had predicted they would steal one win in Indiana, then return home and win three straight home games to take the series 4-1.
That was their ideal scenario.
But it wasn’t reality.
After the second half began, the Pacers continued to push their offense and defense at a steady, methodical pace.
The Lakers were like drops of oil in boiling water, sputtering erratically.
But they couldn’t start a wildfire; they couldn’t connect into a single blaze.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Pacers resolutely executed the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy.
The Pacers had stockpiled enough big men, and with Su Xi keeping the team steady, they consistently maintained their lead.
Kobe was furious. He had almost managed to retake the lead.
But they couldn’t, precisely because O’Neal was repeatedly sent to the free-throw line, and his free-throw percentage was pathetic—not even 50% tonight.
Even though Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and Kenny Smith all agreed on television that the Pacers were playing ugly basketball.
Like twisting a melon from its vine before it’s ripe.
But this unripe melon... it was sweet.
115-112.
The Pacers had won again.
Although it was only by three points.
But the game had been under their control the whole time.
The Lakers were down 0-2 in the series.
The Pacers were only two wins away from the championship.
And the shocking thing was, they hadn’t lost a single game since the playoffs began.
Even Charles Barkley couldn’t help but ask on TV, "They’re not actually going to sweep their way to a championship, are they? That’s terrifying."
