Kobe sank a free throw. 8–5. The Knicks still held a three-point lead as the Lakers pushed the ball up for another possession.
The game stayed as fierce as ever. On one end, Shaquille O'Neal went one-on-one against Fordson in the paint. Zhao Dong frequently rotated back to help, but O'Neal's timing and footwork made him nearly unstoppable. Still, every basket cost him energy—Fordson battled hard, forcing Shaq to fight for every inch.
For the Knicks, Zhao Dong continued to dictate the tempo. He pushed the pace, triggering lightning-fast transition attacks. The rhythm was relentless—run, score, and run again.
After the first ten minutes, the scoreboard read 29–26, Knicks by three.
---
Timeout – Commentary Booth
Barkley leaned forward, analyzing.
"Man, that was one hell of a first quarter—up-tempo and efficient. Both sides are knocking down shots."
Kenny Smith nodded. "Exactly. The Lakers are feeding Shaq inside, and the Knicks are killing them with fast breaks. Neither team can stop the other."
Barkley chuckled. "What I'm watching for is whether Zhao Dong can break Isiah Thomas' Finals record—25 points in a single quarter."
—-
Zhang Heli added, "No doubt. This game is turning into a straight-up shootout."
Su Qun scanned the stat sheet and smiled.
"O'Neal's 7-for-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from the line—17 points in just ten minutes. And to counter that, Zhao Dong's gone all out—10-for-13 shooting, including 5 fast-break buckets, perfect 2-for-2 from the line—22 points already.
Coach Zhang, do you think he's breaking Thomas' record tonight?"
Zhang Heli laughed. "He only needs three points to tie, four to break it. Two minutes left? At this pace, it's basically guaranteed."
The timeout ended, and play resumed with Lakers possession.
O'Neal sat, and Ben Wallace checked in. Kobe took over, crossing up Stackhouse, pulling up off the dribble—mid-range splash.
Knicks ball.
The Knicks went big: Willis and Trent in the paint, Fordson and Ginobili spaced out, Zhao Dong running point at the top of the arc with Marion at the wing.
"How do the Lakers defend this?" Barkley's voice boomed from the booth.
On the floor, Kobe stepped up to pressure Zhao Dong. Glen Rice cheated off Marion, sliding over for the double-team.
Marion instantly cut baseline, just like Zhao Dong told him in yesterday's walkthrough. Big Ben and Horry were already pulled out by Willis and Trent, but as soon as Marion slashed to the rim, Ben dashed back to protect the paint.
Exhausted after ten relentless minutes, Zhao Dong didn't force it. Instead, he hit the open man—Willis on the left wing—then sprinted straight to the rim for a potential rebound.
Willis took one dribble, rose, and drained the mid-range jumper.
---
CCTV Booth
Su Qun groaned dramatically.
"Zhao Dong! You're one point away from tying the record! Why pass now?"
Zhang Heli chuckled.
"He knows. But between chasing a record and winning, he's choosing to win. No matter how good he is, he can't hog every possession. Keep his teammates involved, or their rhythm dies, and that hurts them later."
31–28, Knicks.
Lakers pushed the ball. Harper advanced it cautiously, Zhao Dong shadowing him. As they crossed the top of the arc, Harper dribbled a little high—just for a split second.
Zhao Dong struck like lightning.
"It's over!" Barkley shouted as Zhao Dong ripped the ball clean.
In one motion, Zhao Dong spun, darted upcourt, took three long strides, then launched into a 360-degree windmill dunk.
The Knicks bench erupted. The three thousand Knicks fans in the arena roared—and even chunks of Lakers fans stood and clapped.
"You traitors…" the Lakers' home announcer groaned into the mic, earning laughs.
Barkley laughed louder.
"Man, look at that! Game 3 of the Finals, and Zhao Dong's pulling out tricks. The guy's built different."
Kenny Smith chimed in.
"And that puts him at 24 points. One to tie, two to break Thomas' record. Sixty-nine seconds left. Plenty of time."
Phil Jackson clapped hard from the sidelines.
"Stay sharp! No careless turnovers!"
This time, the Lakers handled the ball safely. Kobe and Harper advanced together, denying Zhao Dong another chance at a steal.
Kobe called his own number again—fake drive, quick pull-up, then a step-back… three-pointer, nothing but net.
"Can you even guard me? I'm taking the soul out of your jumper!"
After knocking down his shot, Kobe backpedaled to the Lakers' backcourt, flashing his trademark grin as he trash-talked Stackhouse.
Stackhouse snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Don't act like you're my boss. Come up with some new lines, man."
Zhao Dong brought the ball into the frontcourt. Kobe immediately switched with Glen Rice, determined to stay glued to him.
But the defensive rotation left a crack.
Stackhouse darted toward the paint at full speed, slipping past the switch. Zhao Dong fired a quick pass. Stackhouse caught it in stride, attacking the rim.
Ben Wallace rotated late but recovered just in time. Stackhouse went for a layup instead of a dunk—bad choice.
"Bang!"
Big Ben exploded off the floor, rejecting the shot clean. Stackhouse stared in disbelief.
The ball caromed toward half court. Zhao Dong turned on the jets, racing Kobe to the loose ball and scooping it up just before the Mamba could reach it.
With the shot clock ticking, Zhao Dong pushed left, Kobe pressuring tight. Marion hustled over to set a screen. Zhao Dong drove hard, forcing Glen Rice to switch.
Then came the killer move.
Zhao Dong planted, stepped back behind the arc, creating just enough space. Kobe was still tangled in traffic, Rice lunged too late.
Zhao Dong rose.
"Go in!" Su Qun yelled on CCTV's live broadcast.
Splash.
The net snapped as the three-pointer dropped with 22 seconds still on the clock.
"Record broken!" Su Qun's voice boomed.
"27 points! Zhao Dong now holds the all-time Finals record for most points in a single quarter—27 points!"
"36–31! Zhao Dong breaks Thomas' record, and the Knicks cut the deficit to five!" Zhang Heli added with a grin.
The quarter closed with Kobe missing a jumper, Marion bricking a fast-break pull-up, and the buzzer finally sounding.
The Lakers came out aggressive in the second quarter. O'Neal stayed on the bench briefly, but the other four starters remained.
On the Knicks' side, Stackhouse played the first three minutes before Ginobili replaced him. Inside, Willis and Trent held their ground with O'Neal still out. Rogers checked in at small forward.
But without their speed lineup, the Knicks' transition game slowed to a crawl. Ginobili couldn't keep up, and Rogers lacked the burst to run the break. They shifted to half-court sets, where Zhao Dong focused on facilitating early on.
The result? Sluggish offense. The Knicks led just 40–38 after three minutes.
Then O'Neal checked back in.
Old Nelson, unwilling to let the game slip, swapped Ginobili—whose legs were clearly gone—for Marion.
Unfortunately, Marion struggled badly. Though more athletic than Ginobili, he looked lost, constantly misreading cuts and mistiming screens. His jumper clanged, and two straight bad passes wasted possessions.
Barkley couldn't help but laugh during the broadcast.
"Rookie jitters. It's Game 3 of the Finals, and Shawn Marion is playing like… well, a rookie."
---
Halftime Numbers
The half ended with the Lakers ahead 58–55.
Zhao Dong's first-half stat line was nothing short of spectacular: 16-of-24 shooting, 40 points, 66% from the field.
But the Knicks' supporting cast failed to show up. Ginobili and Marion both wilted under the Staples Center boos, clearly rattled.
Marion went 0-for-3 with 2 turnovers, while Rogers only managed 1-for-4. The Knicks' interior chipped in a few buckets, but nothing game-changing.
O'Neal dominated. He played 19 first-half minutes, going 13-for-18 from the field, 5-of-9 from the line, 31 points, 72.2% shooting—even his free throws were above average at 55.5%.
His paint dominance opened up space for Kobe and Glen Rice, whose perimeter shooting kept the Lakers in control.
The Staples crowd roared with energy as the Lakers headed into halftime with momentum on their side.
---
Halftime Analysis – Commentary Booth
Barkley shook his head, grinning.
"O'Neal's destroying the paint, plain and simple. That's forcing the Knicks to collapse, which opens up Rice and Kobe. That's why L.A.'s offense is humming."
Kenny Smith added,
"Fordson's return is helping rebounding, but his offense is nonexistent. The Knicks don't have a low-post threat to punish the Lakers, so their shooters aren't getting clean looks."
Barkley nodded.
"Fordson's doing work on the boards—seven rebounds in the first half—but defensively? He's not the same. Can't hold off Shaq. That knee injury's clearly affecting him."
Over on CCTV, Zhang Heli sighed.
"Marion was rough—0-for-3 and two turnovers. Rogers wasn't much better. If Zhao Dong wasn't this efficient, the deficit would be worse."
Su Qun chimed in,
"Coach Zhang, Zhao Dong didn't attack the basket much in the second quarter. Saving energy?"
Zhang Heli smiled.
"Of course. Managing stamina is part of being a superstar. Zhao Dong knows he needs to pick his spots for the second half."
Su Qun smiled, glancing at the stat sheet.
"Forty points in one half… If Zhao Dong keeps attacking like this, maybe—just maybe—he could break Jordan's legendary 69-point game."
Zhang Heli froze for a second, then nodded cautiously.
"It's possible, but let's be realistic. The Lakers' double-teams on Zhao Dong have been light so far. If Phil Jackson adjusts in the second half, Zhao Dong's energy consumption will skyrocket, and his efficiency could drop. We need to be prepared for that."
He paused, pointing at O'Neal's numbers.
"Shaq had 31 points in just 19 minutes. That's a heavy load, and he'll need recovery time. But when he's resting, you can bet the Lakers will tighten their defense on Zhao Dong to slow the Knicks' offense."
And Zhang Heli was right.
Phil Jackson was already planning it—more traps, more pressure on Zhao Dong once the third quarter began
O'Neal stayed seated, sipping water, saving every ounce of energy. Playing the Knicks wasn't like bullying other teams. Against most opponents, he could coast with hooks and soft touches. But against New York? Every point came in the paint, full-body collisions. That kind of game ate away at his stamina.
Jackson didn't want him doubling Zhao Dong on the perimeter either. The goal was clear: preserve Shaq for crunch time.
Zhao Dong read the situation instantly.
If Shaq was sitting, that was an invitation to attack. Force Phil's hand. Drag Shaq back in.
Thanks to Fordson holding the fort inside, Zhao Dong had saved plenty of energy in the first half. He hadn't been banging in the post much, relying more on jumpers. Now? Time to unleash.
In five relentless minutes, Zhao Dong bullied his way inside, drawing contact on every drive. Ben Wallace picked up two quick fouls, Horry got tagged with another. Zhao Dong shot 4-of-7 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line, racking up 14 points in a flash.
The Knicks rode his outburst to a 16–7 run, flipping the score: 71–65, Knicks by six.
Phil Jackson slammed his clipboard and called timeout. Shaq was already standing, ready to check in.
The Lakers' strategy changed immediately.
Jackson replaced Big Ben with Horry to space the floor for Shaq and switched to full double-teams on Zhao Dong—even off the ball, even when he cut toward the paint.
The first play after the timeout, Shaq bulldozed Fordson, drawing his fourth foul and heading to the line.
---
Zhang Heli checked the foul sheet.
"Only two fouls for Shaq. He's been smart tonight."
Su Qun frowned.
"Fordson's fouling more now than before his injury. At this rate, he might foul out in the third quarter."
Zhang Heli shook his head.
"His knees aren't stable. He can't hold his ground, so his only choice is to foul."
Su Qun nodded. "Makes sense."
On the court, Shaq stepped to the line nervously, glancing at Zhao Dong—clearly worried about another round of Hack-a-Shaq.
Zhao Dong leaned toward Fordson, voice sharp.
"Danny, don't save your fouls. If he's gonna dunk on you, make him earn it."
Fordson gritted his teeth.
"Got it, boss."
It wasn't easy. He'd been dunked on by Shaq at least five times tonight, even knocked to the floor three times. His head was still spinning.
Shaq bricked both free throws—Bang! Bang!—and the Knicks grabbed the rebound.
Next possession, Zhao Dong attacked the rim hard. This time, Shaq met him chest-to-chest.
"Bang!"
Zhao Dong hit the floor hard.
"Boss!" Fordson rushed over.
Zhao Dong rolled to his back, then suddenly popped up with a clean somersault. The crowd gasped, then erupted—3,000 Knicks fans cheering, even some Lakers fans clapping.
Shaq, lying on the floor himself, stared in disbelief.
He'd rested five minutes in the first half, 15 minutes at halftime, and another five in the third quarter, yet he felt exhausted. Zhao Dong? Still fresh, still explosive.
Phil Jackson's jaw nearly hit the floor. Was Zhao Dong even human?
---
Zhang Heli laughed from the CCTV booth.
"Phil tried to conserve Shaq's energy, but Fordson's return has let Zhao Dong conserve his own. He still looks like he just started the game."
Over on TNT, Kenny Smith shook his head in disbelief.
"I swear Zhao Dong knows Kung Fu."
Barkley smirked.
"Come on, Kenny. Every Chinese guy knows Kung Fu, right?"
Smith nodded seriously, as if enlightened.
"Right. Of course."
Standing at the stripe, Zhao Dong looked over at Shaq.
"Shaq, if you can't hold the paint, you're never winning that championship."
Shaq growled, frustrated.
"Not a chance, man. Not a chance."
Zhao Dong calmly knocked down both free throws—nothing but net.
The scoreboard flashed: Knicks 75 – Lakers 67. Knicks by eight.
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