Chapter 844: Your New Nickname (6K)_2

Chapter 844: Chapter 263: Your New Nickname (6K)_2

At 5 minutes and 22 seconds and 5 minutes and 57 seconds into the fourth quarter, the SuperSonics spread the ball to the outside under the Lakers’ compact defense, but missed two consecutive three-point attempts, stalling their offense! During this period, Zhang Hao scored with a close-range turnaround fadeaway in a post-up and drew a foul against Schramm for a 2+1 play, and Barkley made a strong spin move in the post, throwing in a layup against Kemp’s help defense.

The Lakers made a 5-0 run, tying the game at 108!

The SuperSonics were forced to call a timeout, but when the play resumed, O’Neal returned to the court…

The game was nearing its end, and the Lakers had no other strategy – with O’Neal back in, Barkley was subbed out, and the shooting trio of Kenny Anderson, James Robinson, and Byron Scott was brought in. On the SuperSonics’ side, it was clear the Lakers would continue to attack!

There was no solution! Even if this official timeout led the SuperSonics to put McIlwai in, it would only slightly wear out O’Neal.

If McIlwai had been on the court during Zhang Hao’s and Barkley’s post-up phase earlier, he might have worn them down more, potentially forming a stronger defensive trapping circle in the mid and near range.

However, when O’Neal gets on the court, they wouldn’t be able to pose any challenge. Despite McIlwai’s enhanced weight granting him high shot-blocking efficiency and rim protection, it greatly diminished his stamina. Gaining more than ten kilograms is no joke; managing to play twenty minutes per game is quite good.

The key point is, tonight, O’Neal’s free-throw performance of nine attempts with six successes even deterred the SuperSonics from employing the “Hack-a-Shaq” strategy!

No surprise, official timeout resumes, and O’Neal leads a 7-4 run, turning the score around with the Lakers leading the SuperSonics 115-112 by three points!

The SuperSonics, initially relaxed in the first half of the third quarter, not pressured in the second half, increasingly anxious in the first half of the fourth quarter, now, truly panicked!

Panic led them to attempt an aggressive play to regain momentum; Payton and Kemp could both sense their teammates were almost dazed by the collisions with the Lakers.

During the SuperSonics attack, Payton and Kemp executed a pick-and-roll, Kemp drove into the inner line, exploiting O’Neal’s slightly slower start, and forced a layup, attempting to draw a foul!

Just when O’Neal seemed to be relegated to the background, a Lakers player wearing jersey number eight dashed in and slapped the ball out of Kemp’s raised hand!

The referee was about to blow the whistle, but seeing Zhang Hao knock the ball away, instinctively held back his breath, refraining from blowing the whistle! Kenny Anderson quickly nabbed the defensive rebound, and Zhang Hao and O’Neal had already initiated the fast break, prompting Kenny Anderson to swiftly advance. Meanwhile, two other shooters followed up from both side lanes.

Payton at the free-throw line and Sam Perkins, outside the three-point arc at a 45-degree angle, retreated quickest on defense, starting their retreat as soon as the opposing team’s three-point shot was made. Jose Hawkins stuck close to Byron Scott’s follow-up as well. Despite some panic, the SuperSonics maintained good defensive discipline.

However, even with a quick retreat on defense, they managed to block Zhang Hao, whose fast break was all about speed.

Yet the Lakers fielded another player capable of sprinting down the court even more dominantly – O’Neal!

Sure enough, O’Neal was slower in his start, but that was only by comparison to his former self. His speed might have reduced from 86 to 83, a drop in rank, but he still maintained upper echelon speed!

Zhang Hao caught the ball outside the three-point line, waiting for O’Neal to dash down, and when he reached the free-throw line, Zhang Hao launched a trailing three-pointer… it missed! But!

The SuperSonics players under the basket immediately scattered, not daring to contest the defensive rebound, as O’Neal jumped up from the top of the key within the free-throw semi-circle arc, leaping high to press the bouncing ball back into the hoop!

It was incredibly brutal! The crowd couldn’t suppress their amazement at the play!

With a 140-kilogram dash and a dunk, the entire hoop structure was shaking!

After landing, O’Neal quickly moved aside, and the referee promptly directed the fans, players, and journalists near the hoop to step back, allowing staff to inspect the equipment.

The game was forced to pause!

The Lakers players certainly had no complaints, for their playstyle demands that their three prominent frontcourt players take more rest. The crowd buzzed like bees, discussing the dunk, even the SuperSonics made no protests, prioritizing safety above all.

There was no choice; O’Neal had a history. Despite reinforced hoop structures, the fright was still present.

O’Neal’s first time bringing down the hoop led the league to urgently commission the purchase of sturdier hoop structures, but more than two months later, O’Neal once again broke a hoop, prompting the league to contract with designers in the summer of 1993 to create a near-monolithic structure hoop frame. In recent years, such incidents have not recurred.

The maintenance period was fairly long; Zhang Hao leaned against the scorer’s table, watching O’Neal, the one who almost broke the hoop, twisting his increasingly bulky waist, celebrating the recent play with teammates, all while maintaining a solemn expression but feeling intensely shaken inside – is this the future peak of O’Neal?

This is merely a half-complete version!

Sure, O’Neal was strong when agile, but against peak Olajuwon, he was at a disadvantage. Even if Olajuwon could just barely win against O’Neal in minor ways, winning slightly every game reveals a true strength gap.

But if O’Neal in this form, accustomed to playing with such body weight, faced Olajuwon, wouldn’t it be impossible for Olajuwon to do anything?