Chapter 289: Chapter 72: Why Am I Always the Winner (Part 2)

With incredible explosiveness and coordination, Shaquille O’Neal soared up and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand.

That was pure dominance.

When he got the ball deep in the paint, a one-on-one matchup was useless.

And this was after the Shark had gained weight, his explosiveness and speed already on the decline.

In his prime, he was even more brutal.

Even more unstoppable.

Foster was considered quite athletic for a center, but he still couldn’t hold his ground against him.

The TNT cameras caught Carlisle sighing on the bench.

He was the kind of opponent no head coach ever wanted to face.

The play shifted to the other end.

Gary Payton was on Su Xi, trying to force him into a half-court set and wear him down.

Su Xi blew past his defense with a single burst of speed. Su Xi wasn’t afraid of physical, pestering defense. First, he knew how to handle it; second, his explosiveness and speed were too much for the current Gary Payton to contain.

However, after a probing step toward the inside, Su Xi quickly passed the ball to Little O’Neal, who had drifted out to the free-throw line.

Then, he quickly ran to the baseline. Reggie Miller set a cross screen for him, forcing the Lakers to switch. Su Xi caught the pass from Little O’Neal beyond the three-point line and took a quick shot. Devin George defended him tenaciously.

But it wasn’t quite enough.

SWISH!

He drained the three.

With Su Xi’s vast improvements in off-ball movement and his catch-and-shoot game, Carlisle was increasingly fond of running plays on the perimeter.

In response, the Lakers went right back to O’Neal.

O’Neal caught the ball, made his move, turned, and hit a little hook shot—all in one fluid motion.

The Lakers were stubbornly feeding O’Neal.

Meanwhile, the Pacers stuck to their perimeter-focused strategy.

The two teams went back and forth, trading the lead.

Su Xi played his usual seven minutes in the first quarter before heading to the bench for a rest.

He still had some energy left.

The Lakers hadn’t drained Su Xi’s stamina the way the Pistons had; they lacked that level of defensive discipline.

The Lakers’ defense was a step down from the Pistons’.

They preferred to focus their energy on offense.

19-18.

When Su Xi subbed out, the Pacers were trailing by one.

The game continued.

With Su Xi on the bench, Kobe Bryant started shooting more, but his touch wasn’t hot.

He kept clanking his shots.

Meanwhile, Reggie Miller hit two straight threes to put the Pacers in the lead.

The first quarter ended quickly.

The Lakers didn’t blow them out, nor did the Pacers run away with an early lead.

27-29.

The Pacers were up by two.

"The Pacers are carrying over the resilience they showed in the East Finals, and they’re still playing at their own pace. Jack’s tactical importance from beyond the arc is becoming increasingly apparent. The Lakers are also sticking to their usual game plan: scoring from multiple options and overwhelming opponents with sheer talent."

"These are two completely different styles, making the outcome hard to predict. But if the Lakers win, it’ll likely be a blowout. If the Pacers win, it’ll probably be by a narrow margin."

Charles Barkley offered his focused analysis during the break between quarters.

Kenny Smith said, "I think the Pacers are going to win big tonight. Little Sheep Su Xi hasn’t even started trying yet. The Lakers’ offense, to put it nicely, is the triangle offense. To put it bluntly, it’s just everyone playing for themselves. Even though they found a third option in Carl Malone to complement the OK Combination, Carl Malone has never done anything noteworthy in the Finals."

"Besides, the Lakers’ rotation is way too weak compared to the Pacers’. The Pacers’ bench is much deeper than the Lakers’."

Kenny Smith sounded like a completely different person, now exclusively praising the Pacers and heaping praise on Su Xi.

’Of course, he knew deep down that he was only saying this because he disliked Su Xi and wanted to jinx him.’

But, you had to admit, his analysis was ’surprisingly on point’.

And his words were immediately proven true.

The Lakers made substitutions to start the second quarter, with O’Neal, Gary Payton, and Devin George heading to the bench.

They brought in Derek Fisher, Fox, and Medvedenko.

The offense would run through Kobe and Carl Malone.

The Pacers also adjusted their lineup, bringing in Tony Battie, Bender, Little O’Neal, Artest, and Kenny Anderson.

As soon as play resumed, Kenny Anderson ran a pick-and-roll with Tony Battie, then assisted Hu Su Bao, who sank a mid-range jumper.

Next, Bender and Kenny Anderson suddenly trapped Fisher at the arc. Fisher made a hurried pass that was intercepted by Little O’Neal, and Artest drove to the basket, drawing a foul.

Phil Jackson hurriedly subbed O’Neal back into the game.

Artest sank both free throws.

The Lakers went back to O’Neal to stabilize things.

O’Neal’s dominance allowed the Lakers to slowly close the gap.

Just as the Lakers were about to retake the lead, Su Xi checked back into the game.

On his very first possession back, Su Xi drove into the paint, leaped, and collided with O’Neal in mid-air. He was one of the few players who dared to challenge O’Neal head-on.

And he absorbed the initial impact from O’Neal, passing the ball to Tony Battie trailing him. Batty laid the ball into the basket.

Although Su Xi stumbled on the landing after the collision, it was nothing serious. He had pioneered a new tactic... "Dark Under the Lamp."

O’Neal was a little annoyed. He asked Su Xi, "You ran into me just to pass the ball?"

"Yup," Su Xi replied matter-of-factly.

This only annoyed O’Neal more.

To make matters worse... on the next possession, Tony Battie started fouling. He frantically fronted O’Neal, and when O’Neal finally got the ball and went up for a layup, Battie just pulled him down.

Tony Battie was a tough, powerfully built player.

He was one of the few players strong enough to stop O’Neal’s momentum.

O’Neal went to the free-throw line and, clearly frustrated, missed both shots.

Then on the other end, Su Xi attacked the paint again, collided with O’Neal again, and passed again—this time to Batty, who once again made the layup.

It was the exact same play as before.

The only difference was that O’Neal hit him harder.

Su Xi stumbled a little on the landing.

But he was thrilled. ’His Superhuman Strength talent, which hadn’t budged in a long time, was showing signs of a breakthrough thanks to the impacts from O’Neal.’

’As expected, it had to be O’Neal and his god-given strength.’

On the next possession, O’Neal was in isolation again. He finally managed to get around Tony Battie, turning to jump for the shot, but Su Xi suddenly flew in from the side and swatted at the ball. Despite his immense strength, O’Neal managed to wrench the ball free from Su Xi’s grasp and fling it away... but the throw was wild, not even hitting the rim.

The ball went straight out of bounds.

Ten years from now, that would have definitely been a foul.

But the referee tonight didn’t blow the whistle, simply awarding possession to the Pacers.

O’Neal was practically fuming.

He shot a threat at Su Xi, "You still dare to come at me?"

Su Xi couldn’t have asked for anything better.

The breakthrough for his strength talent was within reach; that last confrontation had brought him to the brink.

The higher the level of a Super Talent, the harder it was to upgrade.

With such a huge reward on the line, Su Xi had no reason to back down.

So, the next time Su Xi had the ball, he drove to the hoop again.

But as he drove, Kobe came over to double-team him. Su Xi quickly dished the ball to Artest, forcing Kobe to retreat. Artest immediately passed it back. Su Xi caught it, gathered his momentum, and charged straight at O’Neal.

O’Neal was ready. He completely ignored Tony Battie behind him, deciding he had to teach a lesson to this kid who kept poking the bear.

THUD!

The two of them collided.

O’Neal used his full strength, intending to flatten Su Xi.

Even though Su Xi’s strength was exceptional for a guard and he had a full head of steam, against O’Neal’s sheer size and power...

...he still lost his balance in an instant. But in that very moment, Su Xi got exactly what he wanted: Superhuman Strength Talent +1.

Su Xi was about to pass to Tony Battie, but he saw Carl Malone quickly rotating over to cover. Any pass would be an easy steal.

Carl Malone had been lurking on the side, waiting for this.

It was a trap designed by him and O’Neal; they weren’t going to let Su Xi succeed a third time.

But... SLAM!

Su Xi slammed the ball straight down onto the court.

A figure streaked in, and Little O’Neal snatched the bouncing ball, cutting straight through the gap between O’Neal and Carl Malone. They had been too clever for their own good.

They had set the perfect trap, but left the front door wide open.

BOOM!

Little O’Neal finished with a thunderous dunk.

Su Xi landed hard on the floor.

O’Neal’s strength truly lived up to its reputation.

But when the camera panned to him, Su Xi was grinning from ear to ear. He looked at Shaquille O’Neal, his eyes sending a clear message: ’I won again.’

...