The Knicks shifted into offense. This time, Zhao Dong moved off-ball to the left wing, just outside the paint, stationed about three meters from the rim, below the dotted free-throw line. Ben Wallace locked in defensively, squared up in front of him.
Stackhouse brought the ball up and made the entry pass. Zhao Dong caught it and immediately stepped back. Big Ben lunged forward to recover—but Zhao Dong spun off the hesitation and blew past him with a sudden burst, slashing directly into the lane.
The Lakers collapsed. Kobe Bryant, always hustling on defense, rotated quickly to cut off Zhao Dong's path at the elbow.
Ginobili, now wide open, slid down to the left corner, glancing at Zhao Dong, ready for the kick-out.
But Zhao Dong wasn't giving it up.
"You think I came this far just to pass?" he muttered under his breath.
He stopped hard just outside the paint. Squeak!—his shoes screeched as he planted.
Kobe anticipated the jumper and elevated, hand extended.
But Zhao Dong leaned back, a smooth fadeaway.
Swish!
The net snapped clean.
Madison Square Garden exploded.
Zhao grinned, jogging back on defense.
"Still wanna help out, kid?" he tossed at Kobe.
Kobe sneered, stiff-necked. "Afraid of you? Not a chance."
---
Lakers' possession.
Phil Jackson shifted gears. O'Neal didn't take a post-up; instead, he floated high, screening off the ball, saving his energy.
Ron Harper calmly held the ball at the top, giving Shaq time to recover. After a few seconds, O'Neal vacated the paint, and Ben Wallace's three-second count reset.
Then it happened.
Kobe, moving without the ball, cut along the baseline. Harper fired a precision bounce pass right through traffic.
Kobe caught, rose—and Zhao Dong rotated, ready.
Kobe shifted midair, evading the first block, spinning under the rim, attempting a reverse slam.
But Zhao Dong never left.
He stayed above.
Bang!
A left-handed rejection, clean and powerful.
Kobe crashed down, sitting stunned as the ball ricocheted.
Zhao scooped it up, fired an outlet to Ginobili.
The Knicks ran. Ginobili, Stackhouse, and Rogers pushed up the floor, Zhao Dong trailing.
Four-on-three break.
Ginobili drove, baited the defense, then dropped it back to Zhao Dong striding down the center.
BOOM!
A thunderous two-hand dunk shook the rim.
Knicks lead 4-2.
---
Lakers countered.
This time, O'Neal bullied his way inside. Willis played soft, letting him walk into the paint.
Ben Wallace couldn't shift over in time. Zhao Dong and Willis combined to front Shaq.
Ron Harper lobbed the ball high—too high for Willis, but perfect for Shaq.
O'Neal and Zhao Dong rose together.
Zhao Dong got a fingertip on it.
They landed—Zhao quicker.
O'Neal, slower on the second leap, couldn't keep up.
Zhao Dong snagged the loose ball.
Bang!
Ben Wallace collided into him. O'Neal followed.
Zhao braced, elbows high, swinging side to side.
Thud!
Both Lakers stumbled back, groaning.
Ginobili cut to help. Zhao Dong dished it.
The Knicks flew.
Ginobili, Stackhouse, Rogers, and Zhao sprinted ahead.
Four-on-three again.
Zhao hit the lane. Glen Rice, backpedaling, refused to challenge.
Ginobili dumped it off.
Slam!
Zhao Dong hammered it home.
6-2, Knicks.
---
Lakers' turn.
Kobe spotted an opening. With O'Neal sealing deep, Kobe faked the three, shook Ginobili, pulled up from the wing.
Swish.
6-4.
Phil Jackson's strategy: let Kobe shoot in rhythm, trust the bigs to rebound.
---
Knicks' next possession.
Ginobili brought it up—but Kobe hounded him. Pressure. Mistake.
Kobe stole it.
Bang!
A breakaway slam.
6-6. Tie game.
Zhang Heli on CCTV: "Ginobili is still too raw against Kobe. The Knicks must protect the ball and swing it faster."
Stackhouse took the next possession.
Zhao Dong shifted into the low post. Big Ben smothered him, chest to back.
Bang!
Entry pass.
Double-team. Kobe came quick.
Zhao slithered away from the trap. Big Ben anticipated, stepped into his path.
But Zhao braked, half-step from the paint.
Fadeaway.
Zero-angle. Baseline jumper.
At this moment, Zhao Dong shook off both Ben Wallace and the double-team from Kobe.
"Swish!"
The net snapped crisply as his mid-range jumper dropped through.
6:8, Knicks lead. Lakers possession.
"Whew!" Zhao Dong exhaled, wiping sweat off his brow. Back-to-back buckets—his rhythm was coming alive. His touch tonight? Not bad at all.
But on the other end, Kobe once again sliced past rookie Ginobili with a lightning-quick crossover and pulled up for a short jumper.
Bang!
It rimmed out. Four bigs from both teams fought under the glass. Anticipating the rebound, Zhao Dong boxed out early and secured it.
Ben Wallace, familiar with Zhao Dong's tendencies from their two seasons as teammates, quickly stepped in front of him in transition to stall the Knicks' fast break.
On the next Knicks possession, Zhao Dong sprinted into the paint, pulling Shaq and Ben Wallace down low with him, only to backpedal to the perimeter.
Stackhouse, stationed at the left wing, saw the space and whipped a pass out.
Zhao Dong caught it clean, Big Ben trailing him by a step. He suddenly spun and drove baseline. Big Ben hesitated—and that was all Zhao Dong needed. Leaping off one foot, he banked it in off the glass.
"Beautiful! With repeated cuts and changes in pace, Zhao Dong shook off the defender and made it look easy off the board!" Zhang Heli praised from the CCTV broadcast.
"6:10. Zhao Dong is 4 of 5 from the field, already with 8 points. The Knicks are up by four, and he's operating with high efficiency," Su Qun added.
Phil Jackson stood on the sideline, visibly frustrated. He had faced Zhao Dong in three straight Eastern Conference Finals—twice with the Bulls, once now with the Lakers—and still couldn't figure out how to stop him.
"Efficiency... the god of efficiency," Jackson muttered, eyes fixed on Zhao Dong.
The Knicks had lost Oakley and Ben Wallace the season prior. Fordson's injury further weakened their inside presence. On paper, the Lakers held a rebounding edge. But that advantage had yet to materialize. What had emerged instead was Zhao Dong's relentless scoring.
Jackson called timeout, urging his guards to drive the wings harder, pulling Zhao Dong away from the post to create lanes for Shaq.
Out of the timeout, Kobe isolated on the left, pump-faked Ginobili, and nailed the jumper despite drawing contact.
"And one!" Smith exclaimed on TNT.
Swish. Kobe converted the free throw. 9:10.
Stackhouse missed on the other end, and the Lakers transitioned quickly. Shaq tried to seal deep, but the Knicks swarmed him off-ball. Ron Harper, wary of a turnover, instead dumped it to Kobe.
Kobe let it fly from the right wing. It bounced off the rim—rebound Zhao Dong.
"Ben Wallace is a great rebounder," Barkley noted, "but he's still a tier below Fordson. And Fordson only became elite after learning from Zhao Dong."
"You're saying Zhao Dong's a better rebounder than Fordson?" Kenny Smith asked.
Barkley grinned. "Fordson's rebounding numbers skyrocketed after Zhao mentored him. Zhao could dominate the boards, but he's usually too focused on scoring."
"So, like Magic Johnson, but with more scoring?" Smith offered.
"Exactly," Barkley replied. "Zhao Dong could take over the rebounding if he wanted. If he does that tonight, the Lakers' edge disappears."
In the Knicks' frontcourt, Zhao Dong posted up on the left block. Glen Rice hovered nearby. Stackhouse passed to Rogers at the 45, who quickly fed Zhao Dong.
Seeing the pass, Glen Rice doubled instantly.
Zhao Dong felt the pressure, spun baseline, only to be cut off by Ben Wallace.
Bang! He fired a no-look pass behind his back to Rogers in the corner.
Splash! Three-pointer good.
"That's just textbook playmaking from Zhao Dong. He draws the double and finds the open man perfectly," Barkley said.
Zhao Dong kept feeding Rogers, who sank another three out of four attempts—a 50% clip, translating to an elite 75% in two-point terms.
With two minutes left in the first, Knicks led 25:18. Lakers timeout.
Shaq, exhausted from dealing with off-ball double teams all quarter, sat on the bench, looking gassed. He was 3-of-4 from the field but had only received four touches due to constant pressure. Despite 75% shooting, it wasn't enough.
"It's time to rotate the bench," Zhang Heli noted. "Shaq's been battling under the rim all night, and those double-teams are draining him."
Su Qun added, "The Knicks' scheme did two things: it clogged the paint, denying Kobe's drives, and it limited Shaq's post touches."
Zhang agreed. "And meanwhile, Zhao Dong is on fire. He's got 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists—shooting 5-of-7 from the field. He's dominating."
Su Qun nodded. "Phil Jackson's plan to park Shaq under the rim has backfired. With four guys crowding the lane, spacing is gone. Kobe has to live off tough jumpers."
Zhang continued, "And O'Neal's close-range shots are under 50%. His overall field goal is barely 60%. If he's not getting dunks, he's not matching Zhao Dong's production."
"Coach Phil needs to figure out how to get Shaq more efficient touches without him being swarmed," Su Qun concluded.
After the break, both teams went to their benches. Kobe and Ben led the Lakers. Zhao Dong and Ginobili for the Knicks.
Without Shaq inside, Zhao Dong attacked relentlessly. Ben Wallace couldn't hold him alone. In just two minutes, Zhao scored 8 more—three straight makes and two and-ones.
End of the 1st quarter: Knicks 34, Lakers 22.
Zhao Dong: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists in 10 minutes.
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