Chapter 292: Chapter 74: Post-game Confrontation

Using a point guard to lock down the second-greatest power forward in history—and a power forward renowned for his strength, at that.

If anyone else had said this, Carlisle would have considered it a ’stroke of genius’—a major on-court innovation.

But since it was Su Xi saying it, he had no objections.

No doubts.

His only concern was Su Xi’s stamina.

At the 3:45 mark of the third quarter, Su Xi entered the game.

Every fan in Conseco Fieldhouse stirred with excitement. Su Xi had long been the symbol of Indiana basketball.

At this moment, Kenny Smith beat Charles Barkley to the punch on the broadcast, booming, "Su Xi’s entrance will inevitably shatter the Lakers’ fantasy world! Their championship aspirations will turn to dust, annihilated by Little Sheep Su Xi’s determined advance."

Kenny Smith was always inventing new ways to praise Su Xi.

It even made Barkley wonder if his own admiration for Su Xi wasn’t pure enough.

Su Xi stepped onto the court, replacing Reggie Miller.

Kenny Anderson still had the ball. As Su Xi reached the frontcourt, just as Kobe Bryant was hesitating about switching defenders, Su Xi ran a circle around Devin George.

With Kenny Anderson unable to break through, Su Xi simply barreled past Devin George, caught the pass, and drove to the basket, sinking a floater.

On the other end of the court, the Pacers’ defensive formation changed dramatically under Su Xi’s command.

Su Xi moved to the middle of the floor, shadowing Karl Malone.

When Kobe Bryant passed him the ball, Su Xi immediately pounced, disrupting the play!

Karl Malone had no choice but to raise the ball over his head. He turned his body, pushing Su Xi back a step. Then, he lowered his head for a quick drive to the paint—his signature move. But the moment the ball hit the floor... SMACK!

Su Xi swarmed him, slapping the ball away for the steal.

It was even more vicious than Jordan’s famous steal against him.

Like a sharp blade slicing through a cucumber.

Having stolen the ball, Su Xi immediately initiated a fast break.

The Lakers were slow to get back on defense; Malone and O’Neal couldn’t keep up.

Little O’Neal, like a charging elk, caught Su Xi’s pass in the paint and threw down a thunderous dunk.

On his very first play, Su Xi had broken the axle of the Lakers’ triangle offense.

Karl Malone’s role as the ’hub’ of the offense was greatly diminished.

Waves of cheers erupted throughout Conseco Fieldhouse.

"Kenny, you really get Jack. How did you guess he’d wreak such havoc on the Lakers’ system the moment he stepped on the court?"

Charles Barkley said earnestly, "Have you been studying Jack in secret?"

"I..."

Kenny Smith’s chest tightened. ’I’m one of the last people on Earth who wants to see Su Xi succeed. Why would I ever bother trying to understand Little Sheep Su Xi?’

’I was trying to jinx him with excessive praise!’

’But why... did he actually pull it off?’

On the court, Karl Malone was yelling at the referee, demanding to know why a foul wasn’t called.

It was a display of impotent rage.

The referee was used to it. Malone had been complaining like that for years.

His voice wasn’t enough to change anything.

The game continued.

Su Xi continued to harass Karl Malone, sticking to him relentlessly.

Meanwhile, O’Neal was being double-teamed in the paint.

Kobe decided to just take the shot himself... CLANK!

A brick.

Little O’Neal grabbed the rebound.

On the other end, Kobe went right after Su Xi.

But Su Xi refused to get tangled up with him, using his quick movement to stretch the defensive line.

Artest hit a jump shot.

The Lakers’ problems were beginning to surface.

It had taken them six games to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they had relied on Derek Fisher’s 0.4-second game-winner to get past the San Antonio Spurs.

The media liked to attribute this to the fierce competition in the West, which was part of the reason.

But the more significant reason was their weak bench and severely aging roster. They had to rely on Kobe and O’Neal playing the entire game. If the two of them worked together, they were capable of carrying the team.

But the relationship between them was simply too fraught. The slightest sign of trouble, the smallest obstacle, and they would be working at cross-purposes.

And that was exactly the situation now.

Karl Malone did his best to be the lubricant between them, but now Su Xi was like a steel spike driven into their gears. They were back to fighting their own individual battles.

Kobe’s shooting touch wasn’t bad.

O’Neal could still create a threat in the paint from time to time.

But the Pacers consistently maintained their lead, controlling the overall flow of the game.

Su Xi played for five minutes in the third quarter, returning to the bench after Karl Malone was subbed out.

Karl Malone was no longer the iron man who had missed only ten games in eighteen seasons. In this single season with the Lakers, he had missed 42 games—more than four times the total of his entire previous career.

As the fourth quarter began, even with Su Xi off the court, the deep bench of big men the Pacers had stockpiled began to pay dividends.

Carlisle sent them in frequently, and they took turns fouling O’Neal.

O’Neal’s free-throw shooting was actually decent that night—he was hitting fifty percent.

However, the Lakers’ offensive rhythm was utterly shattered as a result.

Even Barkley couldn’t help but say on the broadcast, "The way the Pacers are playing is just plain ugly."

Kenny Smith’s initial reflex was to praise the Pacers, but as he watched the score gap widen, he was left speechless.

In the latter half of the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant seemed to be ’giving up’ in a sense.

He started taking wild shots, completely refusing to pass to O’Neal.

He was trying to single-handedly shoot the Lakers out of their predicament.