They were leading by 8 points.

And Hardaway knew that these first few minutes of the second half were crucial.

Skiles wanted him to draw Kobe into a one-on-one matchup, score, and use the opportunity to pull away.

An old fox like Jackson would never let Kobe keep hurting the team with these one-on-one plays.

But if they could seize this chance and extend their lead to double digits, it wouldn’t be so easy for the Lakers to make a comeback.

’So my mission is a heavy one.’

’Not only do I have to provoke Kobe into this duel, but I also have to defend him as best I can and score as much as possible.’

’It’s hard.’

’This is Kobe, after all—already one of the best guards in the league, a contender for the scoring title and MVP.’

But the road to a championship was never easy, and Hardaway was well aware of that.

Taking a deep breath, Hardaway made his move.

He feigned a drive, instantly switching to a post-up. It was only a half-turn, baiting Kobe into stepping forward, but then he immediately spun back the other way, deftly squeezing past him in a single, agile step.

Although this wasn’t the half-turn step-back that the media repeatedly featured in his highlight reels, the transition between his post-up and his spin was still incredibly fluid.

Kobe forced his body to change direction and turned to lunge at him.

But Hardaway, as if he’d anticipated it, hesitated for a beat, did a behind-the-back dribble to create space, and pulled up for the shot.

Unlike Kobe, Hardaway had decent range, including from three-point territory. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

His signature move had always been the mid-range jumper after various post-up moves.

His form was a bit off, but the ball still swished cleanly through the net.

The lead stretched to 10 points.

Kobe gritted his teeth and demanded the ball again.

He drove, stopped on a dime, pulled back, and sank a difficult long two-pointer from the wing.

But it went in.

Kobe pumped his fist in excitement, but when he turned his head, he noticed Hardaway’s calm expression.

He even saw him purse his lips in a dismissive way.

The joy that had just surged through him vanished in an instant.

’Right, I’ve only made one shot.’

’Keep going!’

Because of that made basket, Jackson, who had been on the verge of thinking Kobe was getting too hot-headed, hesitated. He decided not to call a timeout or shout a reminder at Kobe from the sidelines.

Under his command, the stars were everything. In his many years of coaching, Jackson had perfected one thing: letting his stars play comfortably. He knew all too well the consequences of a star player being unhappy or not getting to play their way.

"Looks like Anfernee is still the better player," Chen Yu commented from the sidelines.

Although Hardaway’s scoring ability had never been explosive, it wasn’t that he couldn’t score. Rather, he preferred to share the ball and create opportunities for his teammates.

He was a team player who always put the team’s victory first.

Chen Yu believed that if Hardaway were on a weak team with a green light to shoot, averaging 30 points a game would be a piece of cake for him.

So he had outstanding scoring ability, with the skills to match.

Aside from his slightly subpar defense, he was so well-rounded he had almost no weaknesses.

In this regard, Kobe was quite a bit behind. He was still young, after all, and his offensive skills weren’t as polished.

Therefore, in this unrestricted one-on-one battle, Hardaway clearly had the upper hand.

Nelson nodded, then said with a wry smile, "I get the feeling O’Neal is starting to get pissed off."

Because of their duel, O’Neal could do nothing but run back and forth up the court.

And when O’Neal posted up and asked for the ball, Kobe flat-out ignored him.

Ignoring him was one thing, but the key issue was that Kobe kept missing his shots.

So when Hardaway sank another shot over Kobe’s defense, O’Neal, who caught the ball as it fell through the net, angrily slammed it onto the floor.

His frustration had reached its breaking point.

The whistle blew.

Jackson signaled for a timeout.

His expression was grim. He had no choice but to call one.

The lead was already up to 13 points.

"Why?" After the timeout was called, Kobe turned to Jackson, a look of confusion on his face.

’I’m still losing to him.’

’Yes, we’re behind, but as long as I can make my shots, I can close the gap right away.’

Kobe stomped off the court, wanting to question Jackson. But before he could get a word out, Jackson said with a stone-cold face, "Kobe, you need to calm down. We need to win this game."

The first part of the sentence was fine, but the second part—"We need to win this game"—stung Kobe.

’Then what was I just doing?’

’Wasn’t I scoring? Wasn’t I helping the team win?’

Kobe clenched his fists, about to argue with Jackson, but to his surprise, Jackson walked right past him and started gathering the other players to draw up a play.

Kobe’s face darkened. Then he heard words that were incredibly grating.

"Get the ball to Shaq."

Jackson looked at O’Neal. While he could accept a loss today, he’d rather not lose if he didn’t have to.

Sweeping the Phoenix Suns 4-0 and getting an early rest—wouldn’t that be nice?

O’Neal nodded emphatically, with an expression that said, ’It’s about damn time.’ He even glanced up at Kobe.

That one glance struck another of Kobe’s sensitive nerves.

’What’s that supposed to mean? Are you blaming me for wasting offensive possessions just now?’

With a dark expression, Kobe sat back down and immediately threw a towel over his head.

"Kobe’s actually been taken out early," Hanna Strom exclaimed in the NBC broadcast booth.

Kevin Johnson blinked and looked over at Bill Walton.

’You’re the old-timer. You should be the one to say the controversial stuff.’

Bill Walton pursed his lips and readily took the bait. He was a star of such a high caliber that even if he criticized Kobe to his face, Kobe would have no choice but to listen meekly.

"He’s too impulsive. I don’t know what happened, but he insisted on dueling with Anfernee. This is a real game, though—a crucial Western Conference Finals game, a playoff game. If they want to see who’s better, why don’t they schedule a time after the game for a one-on-one? I’d even be their referee."

Perhaps feeling that wasn’t sharp enough, Bill Walton continued, "If I were Phil, I’d have Kobe sit on the bench and cool off, too. The way he’s playing is hurting the team. Look, O’Neal can’t even get the ball, and in the blink of an eye, the Lakers are already down by 14."

At this point, Bill Walton’s tone shifted, and he suddenly began praising Hardaway. "Penny is just fantastic. His offensive skills are simply outstanding. I’ll say this: in the league right now, if Penny wants to score, very few people can stop him."

"Look at his spin moves, his footwork—so quick! He’s so healthy. If he had met Chen after his injury back then, if he hadn’t rushed his comeback so early, he would have been loaded with honors by now, one of the best stars in the league."

"Of course, he’s still one of the best, most elite stars in the league right now."

As an NBA legend himself, Bill Walton had a softer spot for stars from the 90s like Hardaway.

Seeing Walton getting more and more worked up, Kevin Johnson quickly cut him off by shouting, "What a play!"

And it was a great play.

O’Neal caught the ball under the basket, brutally shoved Olajuwon aside, and forcefully dunked the ball into the hoop.

Just unstoppable. There was nothing you could do about it.

Like the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers, with two top-tier stars in O’Neal and Kobe, had a payroll that was through the roof. And although they were in a big market like Los Angeles and theoretically shouldn’t have been short on cash like the Knicks, the Bass Clan was just too frugal to be willing to spend lavishly.

So, just like the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers made a habit of scouring the market for veterans who wanted a championship and were willing to take a pay cut.

Take Kobe’s main backup, Brian Shaw, for instance. He was also a 36-year-old veteran on the verge of retirement.

And looking back at his career, he had only ever been an average role player in the league.

But with the Lakers, he had found his place as a championship puzzle piece, a cold-blooded shooter with ice in his veins on the perimeter.

But he was old, after all. Facing the current Hardaway, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.

Skiles also knew that after the timeout, the Lakers would certainly have only one option: run the offense through O’Neal.

The Phoenix Suns couldn’t stop him, so they would just have to rely on their own offense and the lead they had already built to win this game.

So Hardaway played aggressively on offense, constantly using screens to get a one-on-one matchup against Brian Shaw.

The score ticked up for both teams.

At the end of the third quarter, the Phoenix Suns still held a 13-point lead.

Jackson had a massive headache. For the Lakers, Kobe wasn’t just a scorer; he was also their spearhead on perimeter defense.

He glanced over at Kobe’s grim expression.

Emotionally, Jackson didn’t want to put Kobe back in. Even if it meant losing this game, it wouldn’t be unacceptable.

But rationally, Jackson knew he had to put Kobe in, or the trouble would be even bigger.

It wasn’t just about Kobe, but also the media. He didn’t even have to think to know what kind of headlines the media would cook up after the game—something like "Kobe Benched in Crunch Time."

The already sensitive Kobe would only become more furious.

So in the fourth quarter, Jackson put Kobe back in the game. Just before he went on the court, Jackson put an arm around Kobe’s shoulder and whispered, "This is a trick by our opponent. They’re doing this on purpose, trying to get you to shoot a lot and fall into the trap of playing one-on-one. Remember, we are a team. To win, you have to rely on your teammates."

But after hearing this, Kobe frowned again.

’What’s that supposed to mean? They want me to shoot? So what if I shoot?’

’Can’t I score? Can’t I lead the team to victory?’

’Or are you saying I have to pass to O’Neal? What does that make me? O’Neal’s little sidekick who just passes him the ball?’

With a dark expression, Kobe walked onto the court without a word.

Jackson quickly realized he seemed to have said the wrong thing.

Kobe was a bit more restrained after getting back on the court and did start passing, but Jackson keenly noticed that he hadn’t passed to O’Neal a single time.

In their previous two championship seasons, the two of them had put on the "Shaq and Kobe Show" countless times.

Moreover, Kobe was still playing one-on-one, even actively seeking out Hardaway to challenge him.

Sometimes, his teammates were clearly open, but it was as if Kobe didn’t see them at all.

Jackson turned to glance at Skiles, cursing him a hundred times over in his head. ’This scheme of yours is just too damn vicious.’

’Do you have any idea how much talking, how much energy it’s going to take for me to fix this mess you’ve made?’

But now Jackson was in a bind. He knew Kobe’s current playstyle was hurting the team, but he couldn’t sub him out. If he did, Kobe would only get angrier.

With a long, weary sigh, Jackson sat back down.

’Dammit. I’m giving up on this one.’