svetikya Chapter 68 The coaches are all my people, what can you use to fight me?
Chapter 68 The coaches are all my people, what can you use to fight me?
Chapter 68 The coaches are all my people, what can you use to fight me?
O'Neal feigned surprise: "He actually thinks he's someone important, that everyone will listen to him, hahaha, that's hilarious!"
The last time I found it this funny was when my 6-year-old nephew brandished his wand at me, saying he was going to use Patronus Charm to kill me!
The conversation between Lin Ze and O'Neal reached Malone's ears clearly, infuriating the two-time MVP and multiple All-NBA selection superstar to the point that his knuckles turned white from clenching his fists.
"I'll make him pay! He absolutely must!"
At that moment, a league staff member knocked on the locker room door and said, "Everyone, it's almost your turn to play. Please go to the waiting area and get ready."
So, all the stars stood up and walked towards the arena.
The All-Star game's performance segment is over, and now it's time for the players to take the stage and receive cheers and shouts from the fans!
This year, not a single Warriors player made the All-Star team. For fans, this meant they lost a true pillar of support, but it also allowed them to fully and purely enjoy the game.
The entrance ceremony for this year's All-Star players wasn't particularly fancy; they simply lined up, waved, and then the main stage changed, the lights dimmed, and staff quickly cleaned and replaced the props on the court.
After a dozen minutes of warm-up, the starting players took to the field, and the match was about to officially begin!
These ten most popular top stars in the league today naturally received the craziest, loudest, and longest-lasting cheers of the night!
After the fans finished cheering, the referee didn't wait any longer and blew his whistle.
The All-Star Game has officially begun!
O'Neal got the first possession. After Kidd came to the frontcourt, he didn't think about attacking himself. He passed the ball to O'Neal under the basket with a bounce pass. O'Neal turned and pulled up after receiving the ball. Mourning, who is known for his tough and fierce defense, did not intercept this time. He even turned his body to the side to make it easier for O'Neal to pass.
"boom!"
Then came a loud bang as O'Neal slammed the ball into the rim with both hands, causing the entire basketball hoop to shake violently, making people worry that he might break the rim for the third time in his career.
2: 0!
When the Western team was on defense, just like the Eastern team, no one put in much effort. They just stretched out their arms and took a few simple steps. The one who ended the Eastern team's first attack was the league's newly crowned dunk champion, Vince Carter!
UF0 took off again, and after a mid-air spin, he executed a stunning 360-degree spin dunk!
In the next round, Kidd, knowing the importance of sharing the spoils, passed one to each of his remaining three teammates.
Kobe delivered a powerful folding dunk, and Lin Ze also made a rare drive to the basket for a one-handed slam dunk, scoring 2 points with a dunk.
Lin Ze has only dunked a total of 8 times so far this season, averaging less than 0.2 times per game.
Duncan received the ball and made a layup off the backboard. With Lin Ze dunking, Duncan's layup seemed out of place, and Oakland fans even booed him in mockery.
It wasn't until the fifth possession that Kidd finally took a long-range three-pointer. This three-pointer not only disrupted the West's 4-for-4 shooting rhythm, but also ensured that each of them had taken a shot within the first five possessions, which was quite harmonious.
Compared to the West, where each player took one shot on their first five possessions, the East's shots were much more concentrated. Carter dunked twice, Iverson made one drive and one three-pointer, and the remaining shot was a mid-range jumper by Mourning.
8: 6!
In the first few minutes, both sides played with low intensity and relaxed style, and the score remained close with neither side gaining a significant lead.
In the ensuing match, both sides traded blows, constantly delivering spectacular goals to the fans, with each player showcasing their signature skills.
Kobe and Iverson's drives, Kidd's fancy passes, Lin Ze's opportunistic cuts and shots, O'Neal and Mourning's dominant lifts—
Of course, there's also Duncan's hook shot and layup off the backboard.
"Duncan!" Smith couldn't help but say, looking at Duncan on the court who was completely out of sync with the others. "He's an All-Star, and he doesn't even want to show off with a layup. He insists on bank shots."
Five minutes into the first quarter, both coaches began making substitutions.
The All-Star Game is all about giving everyone a chance to shine, ensuring that everyone has enough opportunities to perform.
Generally speaking, in the first 15 minutes of a match, the rotation will be relatively even, with both head coaches giving each of their 12 players a certain amount of playing time and ensuring that each player scores at least one goal on the field before starting to make targeted substitutions.
Players who are in good form, want to play more, and are popular with fans will be able to play longer.
Those who are less popular, less motivated, or less liked by fans will play less.
Of course, it also depends on the player's status.
If a newcomer like Karami asks the coach for more playing time, the coach will probably ignore him. But if a top star asks for more, the coach will definitely grant his wish.
In the first round of rotation, Jackson adopted a simple and direct five-in-five-out system, with all ten players except for power forwards Malone and Webber getting playing time.
There's no way around it, there are just too many power forwards in the West! Pippen is only a small forward, and the rest of the selected frontcourt players are all power forwards.
Five minutes later, Jackson continued the rotation, bringing in Duncan and Webber.
At this point, only Malone remains to be played in the Western Conference.
Ma Long, who was sitting on the bench, couldn't help but frown.
This is clearly targeting him!
He is a two-time MVP, the leader of two Finals teams, and has won countless honors. In terms of league status, he is the number one player on the Western Conference All-Star team. In the end, he was made to be the last one to appear on the court.
This was absolutely intentional! And it was absolutely humiliating!
Lin Ze and Jackson, who were sitting next to him, both saw the displeasure in Malone's eyes. They exchanged a glance and then smiled knowingly.
Targeting? Humiliation?
This is nothing.
And you're trying to isolate me?
Tonight I'll show you what true isolation is!
With three minutes remaining in the second quarter, Jackson made a substitution during a timeout.
Malone finally got his playing time, and he joined the other four starters besides Duncan.
He played the power forward position, which is his best position.
This arrangement wouldn't seem unusual to someone who doesn't know the details.
But Malone could tell at a glance that this lineup was specifically designed to counter him!
With three Los Angeles guys paired with Kidd, who looks like he's in cahoots with those three bastards, what opportunities can he possibly get?
He's lucky he can even touch the basketball!
When the match started, everything unfolded exactly as Ma Long had predicted.
On offense, he couldn't even touch the basketball.
Kobe is the kind of player who, when he's on fire, completely ignores his teammates; at that moment, all he sees is the basket.
Kidd would deliberately position himself in the opposite direction of Malone, giving an innocent look as if he was willing to pass to him but had no chance.
Lin Ze and O'Neal are even less of a topic; those two completely disregarded Malone!
This is not counting.
They didn't even want to let Malone grab the rebounds.
Jason Kidd, touted as the best rebounder among active guards, repeatedly dropped back to the basket to grab rebounds, then quickly passed the ball to Kobe and Lin Ze for fast breaks.
O'Neal was already a behemoth under the basket, and now he was taking on a playoff-like approach to boxing out and grabbing rebounds.
Lin Ze, who rarely ventures into the paint, has started to drop back under the basket to grab rebounds.
Looking at his players on the court, Jackson couldn't help but mutter to himself, "These bastards!"
"It's dried quite nicely!"
It's important to know that in the All-Star Game, unless there's a particularly good opportunity or in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, in most cases, no one will fight for offensive rebounds.
But now the Western Conference teams are desperate to completely collapse in order to protect the rebounds throughout the game.
Anyone who didn't know better would think that Mourning had just transformed into Bill Russell and grabbed more than 40 offensive rebounds!
Especially Lin Ze, every time he contracts, he doesn't go for the rebound.
That's for positioning.
I'm not going to block Mourning or Mutombo, I'm going to block you, Malone.
I, Lin, can easily get a rebound, but you, Malone, won't even get a single one.
Of course, it wasn't like Ma Long never touched the ball.
On the offensive end, he received the ball twice.
One instance was when there were only two seconds left on the shot clock, Lin Ze suddenly passed the ball over three players to Ma Long, who was only one meter away from the three-point line.
Malone had no choice but to force the shot despite the defense, only to miss it.
"Pass the ball!" Lin Ze continued to provoke the guy, "Kobe's right next to you calling for the ball! Pass the ball! Can you even shoot a long two-pointer? Don't just throw it up like that!"
"Fuck you! Kid, get the hell away from me! I don't want to talk to you!"
Lin Ze only smiled as he listened to Ma Long's profanities.
Malone's trash talk only makes him happier.
Another instance was when Malone, who had already given up, was standing outside the three-point line when O'Neal suddenly passed him the ball.
Malone, who was outside the three-point line, hesitated for a moment after receiving the ball.
He never expected these people to be so shameless.
Furious, Ma Long ignored Lin Ze's calls for the ball and pulled up for a three-pointer, only to miss the entire three-point attempt.
Malone actually has a tiny bit of three-point shooting ability; he made over 80 three-pointers in his career.
He was just in a bad mood right now, which is why he threw it so ridiculously.
"If you can't do it, pass it. The All-Star Game isn't a place for you to play recklessly!" Lin Ze mocked Ma Long again.
Of course, this mockery is meaningless.
The All-Star Game, isn't that just a place for players to show off their fancy moves?
But blinded by anger and frustration, Malone was clearly no longer able to consider whether Lin Ze's trash talk was meaningful.
He was thinking: I don't believe it! I don't believe you, Phil Jackson, can be this ruthless! I don't believe you won't give me a single chance all night, won't let me fight Stockton even for a minute!
When Malone was so indignant, he obviously didn't see Jackson's happy expression on the sidelines.
If he saw it, he would immediately realize that Jackson was absolutely capable of doing such a thing!
"Karl, stop spacing out!"
Just as Ma Long was waiting for an opportunity, Lin Ze's shout suddenly came over.
"Karl, set up your screen! I fucking don't want to go one-on-one with Glenn!"
Lin Ze's words surprised Glenn Robinson, who was currently facing off against him.
Wait, is your defense really that strong? It scared the other guy so much that he didn't dare to challenge me one-on-one?
Ma Long ignored Lin Ze, snorted, and turned to walk away into the distance.
"What a petty guy!" Lin Ze muttered, then passed the ball to Kobe, who was not far away, and let Kobe take the lead in the offense.
"What's wrong with him?" Glenn Robinson, always eager to know what was going on, but having missed the yacht party the night before, immediately asked out of curiosity.
"Nothing much," Lin Ze shrugged. "I played a game of cards with him on Saturday night and won some money from him."
"He became unhappy."
"That's his style!" Robinson nodded. "I'll tell you a secret too! You know, when I first entered the league, I signed a huge contract."
"I know, I know!" Lin Ze nodded immediately. "A role model for us all! I've also dreamed of signing a contract like that!"
"He just wasn't happy about it!" Robinson shrugged. "The first time I faced the Jazz, we were matched up, and he elbowed me right in the chest, almost breaking my sternum! And guess what he said?"
"Kid, you think you can earn 700 million a year?"
"What does it have to do with him!" Lin Ze immediately expressed his empathy.
"Yeah, right! What does it have to do with him!" Robinson felt like he'd found a kindred spirit, and while continuing his attack, he kept complaining to Lin Ze: "And also, that time—"
Lin Ze was preparing to box out for the rebound with Malone while listening to Robinson's complaints. At the same time, he sincerely thought: This dirty bastard with the black elbow has really bad character!
I've been in Auckland for three days now, and apart from Stockton, I haven't seen any of Malone's friends!
Even Qin Hui had three friends!
Malone's popularity is even worse than Jordan's!
As time passed, Jackson finally started making substitutions again. However, just as Malone was looking at Jackson with some anticipation, thinking that he might get a chance, he didn't expect that Jackson would substitute him first!
这一个换人直接就宣布：今晚上半场，马龙2投0中，0分0板0助攻的数据了。
That wasn't all. Just as Malone sat down next to Stockton, fuming, his clever partner said:
We were both targeted tonight.
"You too?" Malone looked at Stockton, not even realizing that Stockton could be targeted.
"The players who came on with me just now were Pippen and Payton, both playmakers. Then Webber came on, also a playmaker."
"They didn't give me any chance to dribble the ball up the court; the ball was entirely in the hands of Payton and Pippen."
"Do you think either of these two people would give me a chance?"
"Fuck you!" Malone cursed angrily, "That damn charlatan! He won't give us any leeway, will he?!"
"Looks like that's how it'll be tonight, Karl," Stockton said. "Now, let's just relax and give them a good beating in the playoffs!" Stockton's tone was now icy cold, almost devoid of any emotion.
Although he wasn't as irritable as Malone, he certainly didn't have a bad temper.
Stockton was widely regarded as the dirtiest and most hated point guard in the NBA throughout the 1990s, and it wasn't just his black feet and knees that made him so disliked.
There's also his petty, vindictive nature and his competitive style that prioritizes harming others.
Many fans who haven't watched the game might think Stockton is being unfairly criticized, since throughout his entire career, Stockton has never injured anyone, never caused any player to get hurt, and doesn't even have any classic moments of tripping or injuring others.
But players who played in the 90s know very well: Stockton was a piece of trash!
His greatest strength is that he can always deliver a powerful blow to you from a place where neither the cameras nor the referees can capture it!
To put it simply, before Stockton joined the league, almost no one in the league carried something like a genital protector.
But in the 90s, especially in games against the Jazz, if you didn't wear a groin protector, and afterwards you had any swelling or even a missing genital ball, you could only blame yourself for not taking care of yourself.
What kind of kind-hearted person could be the League's number one peach-stealing master, who single-handedly increased the sales of a protective gear by dozens of times?
That was pretty much it for the first half. Jackson didn't give the Utah duo any more playing time, and the West's strength wasn't affected by their absence.
Despite having a clear overall advantage, the East managed to produce some exciting moments, but the West maintained firm control of the game, leading by as many as 13 points at the end of the first half.
During halftime, Malone and Stockton sat silently in a corner. Garnett, who had originally agreed with them to isolate Lin Ze, also chose to distance himself at this moment, as if he had never agreed to Malone's request.
Garnett blended perfectly into the joyful atmosphere of the others.
Then the third quarter followed almost the same rhythm as the first half.
Malone and Stockton were still being targeted without any attempt to hide it. After the first three quarters, Malone had zero stats in all but three missed shots.
Stockton fared slightly better, as he had one assist.
When it comes to protecting his own, Jackson is so fierce that, apart from Don Nelson, probably no one in the entire league can compare to him.
By the end of the third quarter, the Western Conference team had a 16-point lead, and the highest scorer in the entire West was none other than Duncan!
This guy made 7 of 8 shots and scored 14 points.
Of his 14 points, there were three mid-range bank shots, two close-range bank layups, and two negligible dunks.
If things continue at this pace, Duncan will become the most boring All-Star MVP in NBA history!
The second-highest scorer is Shaquille O'Neal with 12 points, and he also has a good chance of winning the MVP tonight!
For the fans at the stadium, they don't really care who wins the MVP; they're only worried about one thing.
That means if the Eastern Conference doesn't put up a scoring surge, the suspense of the game could end at any time. With such a large point difference, the "real game" that fans are most looking forward to is unlikely to happen.
"Real play" is the part that fans look forward to most every All-Star game!
In the first 40 minutes of an All-Star Game, the stars on both sides might just be playing around, and the game might not be very intense.
However, if the score remains close in the final minutes of the game, both sides will inevitably engage in a fierce battle for a few minutes, which is widely regarded as the true highlight of the All-Star game.
So in the fourth quarter, Oakland fans, who should have been supporting the West, started cheering for the East, hoping that the East would catch up and then both sides would fight tooth and nail for a few minutes.
Lin Ze was sitting in a chair. He had scored 9 points so far tonight, no more, no less. He wasn't thinking about winning MVP, so he was naturally quite relaxed.
Or rather, Lin Ze has entered his own MVP moment.
"What's wrong, Karl? Why are you even wearing your training clothes? Aren't you going upstairs to play a little longer?"
"Let's go up and play a little more, son and I! This time I'll definitely pass you the ball a few more times. As a father, I can't bear to see my child score not a single point!"
"Kid!" Malone glared at Lin Ze, his anger at this moment arguably the highest of his entire career: "You think you've got this in the bag? Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd won tonight's MVP!"
"Who cares about that piece of junk?" Lin Ze scoffed. "It's not like I'm the Finals MVP, what difference does it make whether I win it or not?"
"What, do you think that by taking away all the All-Star MVP awards from the top ten members of history, you can enter the top ten of history?"
"Wake up, Karl! You're farther from being a top-ten player in history than you are from being the All-Star MVP tonight!"
"You don't have it anyway!" Malone had also learned his lesson and began to ignore Lin Ze's tactic of shifting the focus: "Whether something is important or not depends on whether you have it or not! If you don't have it, what you say is useless."
"I have two All-Star MVPs, that's nothing special, it's trivial, it's the most basic thing, but I have two, and you don't have one!"
"Isn't it just the All-Star MVP?" Lin Ze scoffed, looking at Malone, and said casually, "If I wanted it, this thing would be much easier to obtain than finding money on the street. What kind of person would be proud of this?"
"You really think you're some kind of superstar just because you got this thing?"
After Lin Ze finished his taunts, Jackson called him up to the court. Lin Ze ignored Malone and went straight up.
"Karl, you don't need to bother with this kid. He's just a small fry," Stockton said immediately after Lin Ze left. "O'Neal and Jackson are the ones we need to beat!"
"Don't worry, John, I'm perfectly calm!" Malone glared at Lin Ze. "I'll let him compete for the All-Star MVP!"
"Even Shaq doesn't have one of these!"
"Right now, aside from that unassuming Stone, the closest player in the West to the MVP award is Shaq! He really wants it."
"So do you think O'Neal would be angry if this kid tried to steal the MVP right now?"
39
"Well done, Carl!" Stockton thought for a moment and nodded immediately.
On the court, the Western Conference had now switched back to its starting lineup except for Kobe, with Gary Payton replacing Kobe.
This lineup actually reveals Jackson's ideas and the future plans for the West.
Duncan, the highest scorer, and O'Neal, the second highest scorer, were both on the court, paired with O'Neal's younger brother and two of the best passers.
Jackson practically said: "You two, go ahead and score points, whoever gets the most points is the MVP."
When Lin Ze and O'Neal came on together, there were 9 minutes left in the game, and the West still had a 16-point lead.
"You went to bully Malone again?" After the All-Star Game, O'Neal had finally realized that Malone would only get bullied if he faced Lin Ze, unless he directly attacked him.
"Yeah, this guy was trying to sow discord between us," Lin Ze said casually. "He wanted me to win MVP tonight."
"What did you say?" O'Neal asked, somewhat curious.
"I said I'd take it, so I will!" Lin Ze shrugged. "He definitely wants to see us argue and fall out, wants to see us disagree over this thing."
"So what do you think?" O'Neal asked again, his expression somewhat strange.
This fat guy really wants to be the MVP tonight; he's never won it before. But what if Lin Ze suddenly says he wants the MVP because of his argument with Ma Long?
Theoretically speaking, as the eldest brother, he should definitely help the younger brother.
But Shaq really wanted this thing—
As Malone said, if Lin Ze doesn't handle this matter well, even if O'Neal and Lin Ze don't have a childish internal conflict, there will definitely be some resentment and unpleasantness.
"We'll win it together! And I'm even planning to give the MVP trophy to Malone so that bastard knows how stupid he is."
"Together?"
"Yeah, there have been several times in league history, haven't there? I remember it happening several times." Lin Ze said, "Jason, how many times in All-Star history has the MVP been shared?"
"Twice." Kidd, a top-tier point guard, has a naturally excellent memory: "Pettit and Baylor in 1959, 1993..."
"A year's worth of idiots and bastards."
"See, twice!" Lin Ze thanked Kidd and then looked at O'Neal, saying, "This is the third time this year!"
"What to do?" Despite looking like Godzilla and resembling a giant beast, O'Neal's personality is actually that of a typical sensitive and fragile person.
He has always been generous and never hesitated to give when it was time to do so.
As long as you give him enough respect, he'll be willing to do anything.
For example, when he first joined the Heat, after Riley opened up to him, this guy immediately jumped out of his remaining two years and more than $5000 million contract, gave up a $3000 million annual salary, and instead signed a 5-year, $1 million extension with the Heat.
However, he is also known for being petty and will hold a grudge against you for a long time if you do not do what he wants.
For example, the Orlando Magic back then accurately stepped into every trap that O'Neal had in mind.
From “We can’t give you too much money, or Pence will get angry,” to publicly posting a poll in the Orlando Sentinel, letting fans across the city vote on how much Shaq should earn annually.
Finally, they generously and "without hesitation" offered O'Neal a four-year, $54 million contract.
At the same time, Juwon Howard, who was far inferior to Shaquille O'Neal in terms of ability, statistics, on-court performance, and all other aspects, signed a 7-year, $1.05 million contract.
Meanwhile, what did the Lakers do?
Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Jerry Buss, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar formed a lobbying team and met with Shaquille O'Neal.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said you would become the greatest center in Los Angeles history, and Magic Johnson said that as long as you come, the number 32 jersey will be taken down from the sky and will belong only to Shaq from now on.
West provided O'Neal with the best and most prominent parking spaces at the Atlantic Arena, while Buss said that regardless of whether O'Neal comes to the Lakers or not, whenever he comes to Los Angeles, he can ask for as many front-row tickets as he wants.
For O'Neal, these seemingly worthless and commercially worthless conditions were something he could never get in Orlando.
Disney in Orlando didn't even give Shaquille O'Neal a lifetime free ticket!
At this point in the game, the Magic had almost no chance left. It wasn't about money anymore; it was about dignity.
Immediately afterwards, the Lakers' first offer was a 7-year, $1 million contract, while the Magic reluctantly offered a 7-year, $6900 million contract. Then, after learning that O'Neal might sign with the Lakers, the Magic finally panicked!
They gritted their teeth and gave O'Neal a 7-year, $1.09 million contract, but they also attached clauses to the contract requiring O'Neal to improve his free throw percentage, lose weight, and maintain his attendance rate. Only if O'Neal did all of these things would they pay him the full amount of money.
And then?
Shaquille O'Neal, who had already made up his mind to leave Orlando, received the final blow from West.
"Shaq, I've made two more small trades, sending away two players. This will free up more salary cap space, and we can raise your offer to $1.21 million over seven years. I want you to know that it's not that you're only worth that much; it's that under the rules, that's all we can offer you."
Come, let us build greatness together!
Back then, O'Neal chose Los Angeles out of respect, but now, while he wouldn't fall out with Lin Ze over an All-Star MVP award...
But what if Lin Ze came directly to him and said: I want MVP, you have to help me.
He'll definitely be unhappy.
But now Lin Ze's chosen method is for the two of them to take it together. Whether it's genuine or not, and regardless of whether they succeed in the end, O'Neal is happy.
If you have your brother in your heart, your brother will definitely protect you!
This is Shaquille O'Neal.
Then, Malone was incredulous to see O'Neal smilingly screen for Lin Ze, allowing Lin Ze to break through and dunk; to see Lin Ze bounce the ball to O'Neal for a powerful dunk; and to see O'Neal posting up but not attacking, instead passing the ball to Lin Ze for a three-pointer.
So harmonious!
The harmonious scenes on the court made Ma Long rub his eyes.
How is that possible?
Is this fat guy really that nice to this Asian bastard?
Ma Long even suspected that the two of them were having an affair!
As time went by, Malone gradually accepted everything before him. He knew that his plan had failed once again.
Even if Lin Ze doesn't win the MVP in the end, so what?
What can I do besides spew some meaningless trash talk at him?
"Karl, the playoffs! We have to beat them!" Stockton sensed something was off with his teammate's emotions, suddenly turned to look at Malone, and said firmly, "The shame they gave us today! The shame they gave us at this All-Star Weekend!"
"We must return it to them!"
"I'll pay you back double!" Malone snorted angrily, his back teeth practically grinding to powder. "I'll make this kid regret ever being born!"
As the game progressed, the Eastern Conference team was unable to close the gap, with the score difference hovering around 20 points.
The Eastern Conference players gradually accepted this fact, and instead of trying to catch up, they began to focus on putting on a good show.
The "real fight" segment that fans were craving ultimately failed to materialize.
This also means that tonight's MVP will definitely be chosen from the Western Conference.
"The MVP race tonight has entered a heated phase." With three minutes remaining in the game, Smith said with a smile, "It's really hard to predict!"
"Yes!" Wilmarcus said, "Although the East has withdrawn from the competition, the situation in the West is quite unexpected!"
At this point, Smith chuckled and summarized, "Duncan scored a team-high 20 points, Lin came in second with 19."
Then came O'Neal's 18 points! The battle between these three has truly reached a fever pitch!
"What's even more interesting is Kidd and Payton," Wilmarcus continued. "Those two are practically feeding the ball one by one, one ball each."
As they were talking, Duncan scored again. After getting the ball, he turned around and easily put it in with a simple hook shot, without any contact. Judging from his expression, he was obviously getting a little impatient.
They're leading by 20 points, why haven't they substituted me out yet? Why are they still feeding me the ball?
This guy might be the only one on the field who doesn't understand the situation.
But it's also possible that he's just trying to make others think he's clueless.
Thirty seconds later, Lin Ze suddenly raised his hand and threw the ball into the air. O'Neal, under the basket, turned around, pulled up, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!
Smith laughed and said, "At this point, if there's a chance, Lin should still set up the ball for O'Neal!"
Immediately after, O'Neal, who had been fed a ball by Lin Ze, grabbed the defensive rebound and quickly passed the ball to Lin Ze. Lin Ze dribbled to the frontcourt and then suddenly stopped, pulling up and shooting from beyond the three-point line!
"Whoosh!"
Come in too!
Wilmarcus excitedly reported, "Lin has tied Duncan! They both have 22 points! O'Neal has 20!"
In the next possession, after Iverson made a layup, Lin Ze passed the ball from the baseline to O'Neal.
O'Neal laughed and stopped passing the ball, instead dribbling it up the court himself to organize the offense. He even called for a screen.
Then, Duncan actually shook his head and huffed and puffed as he ran over to block Mourning for him. O'Neal immediately dribbled and accelerated towards the basket, and the Eastern Conference's interior players scattered like birds.
With Mourning gone, who among the remaining players was willing to block O'Neal at this crucial moment? The group scattered in a flurry, watching as O'Neal unleashed a powerful dunk, tying Duncan and Lin Ze!
"22 points! All three players have 22 points!"
Wilmarcus laughed and said, "There's only 1 minute and 20 seconds left in the game! This is so exciting! I've never seen such an interesting final moment in an All-Star game! It's so interesting! Will anyone score again and surpass their competitor?"
Wilmarcus's words and mindset basically represent the mindset of the vast majority of fans and even players.
This is the All-Star Game; compared to that mediocre MVP award, people are more interested in seeing something fun and interesting.
Since the East and West are unlikely to actually fight tonight, let's see something we've never seen before!
Three people got the same score—this had never happened before!
In the next possession, Carter drove into the paint and delivered another spectacular dunk for the East.
When Kidd dribbled the ball back to the frontcourt, this smart guy started to show his emotional intelligence.
I'm not sending it anymore!
Kidd, who dished out 13 assists but only scored 5 points tonight, suddenly stopped passing the ball and waved for everyone to move aside, indicating that he wanted to challenge Iverson to a one-on-one!
Iverson came up laughing, and the two started playing one-on-one.
Kidd's final layup attempt in the paint missed, and Mourning grabbed the rebound. Then it was Iverson's turn to come up the frontcourt and pull up for a dunk, bringing his score to 26 points, which was also the highest score of the night.
In the West, basketball has now come into Payton's hands.
Then this veteran, who delivered 10 assists tonight but only scored 2 points, also started to show his emotional intelligence.
Despite his usual foul mouth, which makes him seem like he's eaten three pounds of spiel, he actually had a one-on-one battle with Carter, and his step-back three-pointer missed.
The basketball bounced off the rim and landed right in Duncan's hands.
This guy is practically unguarded. If he goes straight for the putback, he'll have 24 points and be in the lead in the MVP race.
But at that moment, Duncan chuckled and then passed the ball out.
It was thrown to Lin Ze.
Lin Ze cursed after getting the ball.
Who said this guy was an idiot?
He's very smart!
Lin Ze, after receiving the ball, naturally didn't shoot, but instead passed it to Payton: "Gary, score another one on him!"
Payton, who received the ball, rolled his eyes, then simply skipped the feint and launched another three-pointer from a super long distance.
Minute.
This time, it still didn't work.
The rebound fell into O'Neal's hands this time.
The commentator, Wilmarcus, was practically bursting with laughter: "The East did it on purpose! They just watched the ball fall into the West's hands without doing anything about it!"
Smith slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "This is hilarious! The West is playing along, but the East is playing along with them!"
"With 13 seconds left, hahaha, Shaq didn't dunk! Haha, that's hilarious, but he didn't pass either. What's this guy doing? Where did he go? Did he get lost?"
Amid the commentators' exclamations, O'Neal started to pull stunts. The big man clearly couldn't contain his mischievous spirit. He dribbled the ball out of the three-point line and then all the way to the mid-court line. Of course, no one stopped him at this point, and the referees ignored O'Neal's obvious return to the court.
Everyone burst into laughter.
O'Neal glanced at the center circle, then suddenly pulled up and threw a super long three-pointer from midcourt!
As for the outcome, let's not dwell on it.
The basketball flew directly out of bounds.
There are 4 seconds left in the game.
The Eastern Conference team once again passed the ball to Carter from the baseline. Carter, who had dunked 8 times tonight, didn't hold back on this final performance. He quickly drove up the court and delivered a windmill dunk with an extremely long glide and incredibly smooth body movement!
Although the buzzer signaling the end of the match had already sounded before the shot went in, the referee completely ignored the rules and waved to indicate that the 2 points were valid.
Lin Ze, who made quite a spectacle of himself, even went to protest.
He spread his hands to tell the referee that the time was up and the goal didn't count, and kept asking the referee to watch the replay.
Then----
With a broad smile, the referee gave Lin Ze a technical foul.
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