Champions Creed

Chapter 311 Chapter 310: Admit it, you live in my era! (Seeking monthly votes!)
In the first game of the NBA Finals, the two sides played a very tense confrontation.

Shaquille O'Neal and Grant Hill successfully dominated the game in the first three quarters.

Without Ben Wallace, the Hawks don't even have anyone in the interior who can effectively limit the Sharks from receiving the ball.

Kurt Thomas is very aggressive on defense, but his abilities are ultimately limited.

The dreams of old age seem even more powerless in front of sharks.

Although the zone defense allows the Hawks to limit the Sharks by shrinking early, doing so will give the Lakers wide shooting space from the outside.

Therefore, in the first three quarters, when Grant Hill broke through and made a casual pass to give his teammates on the outside a good open opportunity, the Los Angeles Lakers' offense was extremely efficient.

Without Ben, Shark can receive the ball more easily and wreak havoc on the basket.

But the Hawks' offense was also excellent, and their seven-second offense was completely suppressed by the historic defense against the Pistons. But against the Lakers, whose defense was not so extreme, this highly entertaining fast-paced offense once again shined.

Finals commentator Marvin Albert sighed: "A brilliant showtime appeared in the finals again, but this time, the Lakers players could only watch in amazement!"

Because both teams had excellent offense, the score was always very close. After three quarters, the Lakers only led the Hawks by 2 points.

But in the first three quarters, Kobe never took over the offense, and the ball was in the hands of Grant Hill and Shark most of the time.

So in the fourth quarter, the now starving snake finally struck out, wrapping itself tightly around the eagle's trachea until its prey suffocated.

第四节比赛的最后1分22秒，科比.布莱恩特3投3中，包揽了湖人最后的7分。

With 22 seconds left in the game, the game was still undecided and the Hawks were leading by only 1 point.

Grant Hill's pass to Kobe in the final moments was blocked by Roger and went out of bounds. Although the ball still belonged to the Lakers, there were only 2 seconds left for the offense.

In the last 2 seconds, Olajuwon almost hugged O'Neal under the basket with both hands, leaving him no chance to catch the ball.

Roger was going to keep an eye on Grant Hill who might cut in at any time, while Paul Pierce was responsible for defending Kobe.

Kobe set a screen for Hill at first, but then suddenly came out of the restricted area. Pierce grabbed Kobe's jersey in a panic, and Kobe forced himself away and approached the serving point near the baseline.

Shawn Marion raised his incredibly long arms to interfere with Robert Horry's opening shot. Faced with the tight interference, Horry chose to make an unexpected ground pass.

Kobe successfully got the basketball. He didn't have time to get rid of Pierce's defense. He could only jump directly at the moment of receiving the ball, turn in the air, and make a fade away jump shot. The basketball went into the net!
Kobe Bryant's elegant goal sealed the victory for the Lakers. Although it was not a buzzer-beater, it only left the Hawks with 1.1 seconds.

In the final moments, the Lakers placed all their defensive focus on Roger. The Hawks' sideline ball could not be given to Roger who was being guarded by two people, and Michael Reed became the one who unexpectedly received the ball and executed the final.

Although he still remembers his mother's words, "Fear is the worst thing," as a sophomore player shooting the game-deciding shot for the first time in the finals, it is impossible for Michael Redd not to be nervous.

Reed's shot finally bounced off the side of the basket and flew out, and the Los Angeles Lakers won the first game 104-103!
After landing, Michael Reed covered his head with his hands in frustration. Above his head was the bloody score and in front of him were the Lakers players celebrating wildly.

This kind of moment can make you strongly experience what it means to be the winner and the loser.

Roger didn't yell hysterically, he just walked up and touched Reed's head, then put his hands on his hips and walked off the court through the celebrating Lakers players.

The Shark had 33 points and 12 rebounds, Kobe had 24 points, and Grant Hill had 17 points and 8 assists. Another typical big3 stat, a typical big3 victory.

For the Hawks, Roger scored 37 points, Pierce scored 25 points, Michael Reed scored 13 points, and Marion scored 13 points.

Kobe and Shaq were both excited and hugged everyone on the court except each other.

At the press conference after the game, Grant Hill also confidently emphasized: "The biggest difficulty comes from within. Now that we have solved this biggest problem, we can solve everything next. We will not be willing to live in Roger's shadow. He wants to dominate an era? Face our fiery resistance!"

Grant Hill is really passionate and he believes the Lakers are creating greatness.

But Sports Illustrated writer Andrew Sharp immediately mocked Roger in his online column the next day.

"Solve everything? Grant just won one game and he already thinks he can solve everything. He really knows nothing about winning the finals. Yes, he really knows nothing, because he has never won even a round of the finals, and he didn't even win a series against Roger. If God can be solved so easily, how can he become God?"

Game 2 of the Finals came one after another, and this game fully proved how correct Andrew Sharp's point of view was.

Winning just one game is far from solving all problems.

Today, the Hawks not only played fast, but also continued to use more pick-and-rolls in positional offense, with the main purpose of dealing with the Sharks.

If Michael Bibby can score 22.7 points per game on the pick-and-roll, why don't Roger and Pierce try?
The Sharks were very active on defense in G1 and maintained that level of activity in G2, running out of the restricted area every time they defended a pick-and-roll, trying hard to prevent the Hawks' pick-and-roll offense from working.

But the Shark's active defense caused an unexpected problem: he committed too many fouls.

When O'Neal had to face the impact of Roger or Pierce, he inevitably fouled them.

With 2 minutes and 03 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Roger once again broke through with the help of a screen and faced O'Neal again.

The Shark raised his arms and walked out of the penalty area. Roger stopped suddenly and raised the ball over his head. O'Neal didn't dare to bet on Roger's touch, so he jumped up to block it.

But as soon as he made this decision, he cursed in his heart. Roger was just making a fake shot!

O'Neal knew that he might be deceived, but he had to guard against Roger's shooting. This was probably the helplessness when facing a top offensive player. No matter what you choose, the final outcome is to be killed.

Roger took back the basketball, then jumped towards the shark that was tickled, and threw the ball after a collision in the air.

The basketball went into the net, the referee blew the whistle, Roger got a 2+1 opportunity, and Shaquille O'Neal received his sixth foul of the game!

After landing, Roger leaned over and looked at O'Neill's expression with a smile: "Old man, you are too slow."

O'Neal also glanced at Roger. He wanted to curse, but the words couldn't come out.

Because compared to Kobe, it's really hard to say that Roger is a bastard!
Grant Hill clenched his fists as he watched O'Neal walk off the court. Tonight, he saw a cruel fact - even if the Sharks defended seriously, they could not show enough defensive influence when facing targeted pick-and-rolls.

Many veteran fans must still remember how Roger and Shaq teamed up to defend Michael Jordan in Orlando. Now, in 2002, Roger is still Roger, but Shaq is no longer Shaq.

In the Orlando period, the Shark was so flexible that he would not look clumsy even when defending outside the three-second zone. But what about now? The accumulated weight loss has given the Shark a more terrifying dominance in the restricted area, but it has also made him lose the threat of assisting defense.

Every time he jumped out to defend the opponent's mid-range, he looked as ridiculous as an uncoordinated fat clown.

The Sharks' outside defense was active enough today, but Roger and Pierce's shooting percentages were not reduced much. More often than not, they still had to rely on Robert Horry to help out. Even so, the Sharks were still forced to commit six fouls.

Marvin Albert also discovered this problem.

"Do you know that in the past, if a player was forced into the corner between Roger and Shaq, he would not be able to score a jump shot, even if he was Michael Jordan. At that time, the defense of the two of them was not top-notch individually, but if they worked together, they could still make top players uncomfortable. Now, Roger is one of the best outside defenders in the league. Many times he can solve the defensive problems without help from the inside, but what about Shaq?"

Grant Hill swallowed his saliva. The Sharks' defensive problem was completely unsolvable.

And this shortcoming will continue throughout the series.

This is quite frustrating. You know how others will treat you, but you can't do anything about it.

After O'Neal was forced to leave the court, the game was actually over.

Roger had already proved one thing in last season's finals - the big3 couldn't beat me without any one of them.

In the subsequent games, without the Shark's inside control, Kobe's offensive power was greatly reduced.

Although he was able to score at least one goal, his firepower was still no match for Roger's.

罗杰靠着7秒进攻和大量的挡拆最终全场轰下41分，率队以107比99取胜，将系列赛总比分变成1比1。

Roger scored 41 points in the game. When shaking hands with Grant Hill after the game, he said softly: "Your counterattack was not hot at all, and even made me feel a little bored."

This sentence made Grant Hill feel a chill down his spine, and the result of this game made Lakers fans tremble with fear.

所有洛杉矶人都还记得去年总决赛，罗杰六场比赛的得分分别是35分、42分、47分、45分、50分和36分。第一战罗杰拿30+发现无法解决问题后，第二战就立刻轰出40+，并持续了四场。

Will this be a repeat of last season's finals?
But the total score is at least 1-1, and Lakers fans can still look forward to three home games at Staples Center.

But in the locker room interview after the game, something worse than Roger's awakening appeared - the cooperation mode between Shark and Kobe, which lasted only two games, was completely broken by a defeat.

Everyone is resentful after losing a game, and Kobe and Shaq can easily vent their resentment on each other.

During the interview, the two of them were sarcastic to each other.

Kobe's locker was right next to the Shark, but he still deliberately shouted loudly in response to reporters' inquiries: "What's wrong with our defense? You should ask other people, because I don't understand why he is always deceived by those fake moves that are not confusing at all. His unnecessary fouls at least let the Hawks get 6 more points! If he wasn't so stupid, I'm afraid we would be celebrating the victory!"

The Shark controlled his temper and did not stand up and beat Kobe directly. Instead, he deliberately responded loudly: "Some people always claim to be the boss of the team, and ask their teammates to dominate in the penalty area, and then ask their teammates to dominate on the defensive end. One moment, they ask their teammates to grab rebounds, and the next moment, they ask their teammates to have a high hit rate. Then let me ask, if your teammates have dominated, what do you need a boss like you to do? Are you responsible for spreading your hands and complaining?"

For some reason, O'Neill thought of Roger again.

Roger never blames you when you have tried your best, never!
In fact, Roger never blames anyone when he loses, he only blames himself.

Five years ago, Shark actually thought Kobe was a better person than Roger. He felt that he was probably blind at the time!
O'Neal really didn't expect that the longer he stayed outside, the more he would feel that Roger was amazing.

On the side, Grant Hill listened to the quarrel between the two and felt that everything was over.

The situation only became difficult when the Sharks tried their best but still couldn't change the Lakers' defense.

But when the false peace created by Grant Hill was exposed after only two games, the Lakers faced more than just difficulties.

But death!

Can the next three home games in Los Angeles really turn the tide?
Grant Hill sighed, feeling very unsure.

He now admits what Sports Illustrated said, that he is still far from solving all his problems.

The next day at noon, Roger and his teammates flew to Los Angeles.

When the plane took off, Roger leaned against the small round window of the plane, looking at the scenery that he had seen countless times in the past five years.

Paul Pierce at the side smiled and said, "What? Did you drop a coin down there? Did you find it?"

Roger leaned back in his chair and said, "Paul, if you had learned to be so humorous earlier, you wouldn't have been stabbed 13 times that day."

"If Shaq hadn't been stabbed 13 times, how could he have enjoyed that delicious meal? Everything was arranged by a magical fate."

Roger deliberately put on a serious expression: "Damn it, we played in the finals with the Lakers for three years, three years! In the end, the most impressive scene we contributed was still your extreme explosion. I really don’t know whether I should be happy or ashamed of this!"

Roger and Pierce were chatting about other topics, so Roger didn't tell Pierce that the reason he was reading so carefully just now was because this was probably his last time as Atlanta's savior, conquering away games from his own territory.

In that case, let’s come back with a beautiful victory. This is the last gift Roger brings back to Atlanta!

In Game 3 of the series, all of the Los Angeles Lakers' fantasies about winning the championship were completely shattered.

Phil Jackson's triangle offense became a piece of waste paper because Kobe and O'Neal refused to cooperate and the Lakers couldn't play any tactics at all.

Kobe was making all kinds of difficult jump shots like a madman, and the Shark almost never passed the ball to Kobe when he was double-teamed. The two of them were simply fighting on their own.

For the Lakers' role players, this finals experience was simply a nightmare. Their core players didn't think about how to beat others, but fought against themselves, which led to the team being beaten up. Although the score was gradually widened, Kobe and O'Neal had no intention of reconciliation.

In the last half of the game, Kobe continued to do his own thing, trying to save the team on his own.

This resulted in Shaquille O'Neal not getting a single shot in that half quarter.

The No. 8 player continued to lower his shooting percentage with a variety of blood pressure-raising shots, which also widened the score gap.

The Hawks won Game 3 without any effort.

Marvin Albert was very disappointed. When he saw the Lakers win the first game, he thought OK would give everything for victory in desperate situation.

But now? They haven't changed at all.

Was it Roger's luck that he met a team that was in a state of collapse?
No, this is telling the world: If you can't lead your locker room like a true leader, you don't deserve to win! If you can't even rule the locker room, how can you rule the game?
This is not luck, this is because Roger is better at this than Shaq and Kobe.

"It's a pity that the best party girls that Jerry Buss prepared to celebrate the championship seem to be useless. But Lakers fans don't have to be so disappointed, because Roger doesn't seem to need to average 40 points per game to win this round of the finals," Marvin Albert joked.

The same situation happened in G4. The Lakers were finished. They might be able to beat the Sacramento Kings in a split, but if the whole team didn't work as one, they would have no chance of beating the Hawks.

When the game ended, Magic Johnson, like more than 20,000 Los Angeles fans at the scene, was speechless.

Maybe Kobe Bryant will be great in the future. Maybe Shaquille O'Neal can save his career somewhere else.

But one thing is certain - the OK combination of the Lakers, or the big3 Lakers, was a complete failure.

Jerry West's original vision of a great cause ultimately only added a few Western Conference championships to the Lakers.

Next, it will be Roger’s coronation moment!
In 1997, the Orlando dynasty was built on the ascetics in Salt Lake City and the corpse of Michael Jordan.

Five years later, Los Angeles, the Theater of Dreams, is about to become the birthplace of another dynasty.

Los Angeles fans are still unwilling to believe that the Hawks will climb to the championship throne by stepping on the Lakers for three consecutive years. They are still eager for victory and hope that some kind of divine power can make OK temporarily put aside their prejudice.

I don’t know if it was because he felt the fans’ expectations, but Robert Horry, who was praised by Magic as one of the “top ten clutch players in the league,” played today.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Atlanta Hawks were already leading by 14 points.

But then, Robert Horry received a pass from the Shark and made a 3-pointer.

One round later, Horry bounced out after a pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, received the pass from Kobe, and raised his hand to make another steady three-pointer.

Robert Horry pursed his lips and pumped his fist at one of the camera lenses.

Is he narcissistic?
No, he just knew his daughter was smiling behind the camera.

Robert Horry's children suffer from a very rare genetic disease. Because part of the first chromosome is missing, her little daughter has intellectual disabilities and aphasia.

She could hardly feel any happiness in this world. The only thing that made her smile instinctively was seeing her father on TV.

Robert Horry is the last Lakers player who still knows what he is fighting for. He doesn't want to be kept on the bench, he doesn't want the series to end like this, and he hopes his daughter can smile more.

One round later, Horry inspired Shawn Marion, broke into the restricted area, and jumped for a layup despite being blocked by his old teammate Hakeem Olajuwon.

This is another very magical scene. Robert Horry in the 90s was one of Olajuwon's best helpers. Together they created the Rockets' unforgettable "championship heart".

Now they are back in the finals, but playing a game that has nothing to do with the Houston Rockets.

Horry eventually scored the ball in the confrontation, and the referee gave him a free throw opportunity.

Horry stepped up to the free throw line, glanced at the cameras trained on him, and tried to stay calm.

At this time, the camera will usually give a close-up of the person responsible for the free throw, and that will be the happiest moment for his daughter.

Horry shot and the basketball went into the net again.

Robert Horry has scored 9 points in a row in the fourth quarter!
In an instant, the Lakers were only 5 points behind!

Kobe and O'Neal just feel ashamed that they fought each other to the point of bloodshed, but they are not as responsible as a role player.

Then, a magical thing happened in the fourth quarter of the game - Kobe and the Shark inexplicably were willing to cooperate again.

So, the two of them were just throwing tantrums like kids, so casual that even they themselves didn't know what would happen next.

The Lakers were suddenly full of fighting spirit again, and those lifeless Lakers fans seemed to be given new souls, making Staples Center very lively.

Grant Hill became full of fighting spirit again. He sprained his ankle in the third quarter, but seeing that the team was still full of hope in the fourth quarter, he decided to stay on the court and fight.

They want to ruin Roger's coronation night!

O'Neal pushed Thomas and Marion away and dunked with both hands.

Kobe made the shot with a fade away despite Pierce's tight defense.

Grant Hill endured the severe pain from his ankle and broke through the Eagles' defense again and again, disrupting the defensive lineup and creating opportunities for his teammates. He gambled everything!
Robert Horry is not only inspiring his daughter, but also the entire team.

The Lakers led by one point in the last 21 seconds thanks to two free throws by Shark, which was their first lead in the game.

Grant Hill punched wildly when he saw the ball go in. He had never been so excited in his entire career.

Kobe didn't say anything, but he still reached out and high-fived the shark.

Robert Horry looked into the camera, happy to be able to extend the life of this series.

Shark looked at Roger, who had become the shadow of his career, with a serious expression: "It's not over yet, Roger. It's not over yet! This era doesn't belong to you yet!"

The entire Staples Center was shaking, and they all knew the significance of this victory.

If they can win and change the score to 2 to 3, the Lakers will definitely regroup.

In adversity, sometimes all you need is a breath of fresh air.

And the confidence of Lakers fans is not groundless. They were able to win in Game 1 because they defended the Hawks' buzzer-beater at the critical moment.

In the era of zone defense, the Lakers can send two people to chase Roger when he is off the ball at will, which will make Roger's threat in critical moments drop sharply.

The game was suspended and the Hawks replaced almost everyone who could shoot. The winning lineup was Hornacek, Pierce, Roger, Bowen and Olajuwon.

Olajuwon needs to set screens for others, but of course, he also has the ability to kill with one blow.

After the referee blew the whistle, Dream and Bowen tried their best to block Roger, but the double pursuit of Grant Hill and Kobe did not allow Roger to have even a little space to move.

Finally, the ball was passed to Hornacek. Death Ray Gun knew that this was the last attack in his career, so he cherished every second and kept himself awake every second.

He controlled the ball and directed the play until the last 5 seconds, when Roger finally came out from the right side and went outside the three-point line. Hornacek seized this fleeting opportunity and passed the ball to Roger safely.

For some reason, Jeff Hornacek suddenly felt relieved the moment he handed over the ball. The moment Roger received the ball, he felt that everything was over.

Come on Roger, come on.

This is the last thing I can do for you. This is the last ball I'm going to pass you.

My journey of assisting you in establishing a dynasty ends here.

Roger did not stop after receiving the ball, but continued running along the three-point line.

He can't step into the three-point line, otherwise the entire Lakers team will shrink.

As Roger moved, Grant Hill and Kobe stayed behind him, leaving Roger with very little space to shoot.

In the last 2 seconds, Roger jumped up while running and made a drifting shot from the right side of the three-point line.

Grant Hill and Kobe's hands passed before Roger's eyes. He saw the basket through the gaps between Kobe's five fingers, and then shot the ball with the posture and rhythm that had become muscle memory.

The moment the ball was released, the red light on the backboard flashed. The ball bounced to the side of the basket, and half of the Lakers fans in the stadium raised their arms.

As a result, the next second, the basketball fell for the second time and went straight into the net!
This time, the Lakers failed to stop Roger from completing the buzzer-beater!

The total score was 4 to 1, and the 2002 NBA champion was born!

The moment the ball went in, all the Eagles players rushed onto the field with their arms raised high.

Grant Hill fell to his knees, holding his aching ankle, and Kobe Bryant once again tasted the bitterness of defeat amidst the flying confetti.

A brilliant dynasty was established on the most brilliant stage in the world, but Roger, who created all this, did not celebrate like crazy. He immediately walked towards the Shark and hugged him: "No Shaq, it's over, it's all over. Admit it, you live in my era!"

Yes, it's all over.

This is the last time NBC will broadcast the NBA Finals. Starting next season, ESPN, TNT and ABC will become the live broadcast platforms of the NBA. Hannah Storm, Bob Costa, Steve Jones, these voices that fans have been familiar with for more than a decade, will be gone forever.

This was the last game of Jeff Hornacek and Hakeem Olajuwon's careers. They once thought they were Roger's opponents, but now hugging each other, they must have deeply realized what the "Roger era" was.

This was the last time the Lakers' Big 3 came together. From now on, they can only become another huge "if" in history. If OK didn't have a conflict, if Michael Redd didn't come out of nowhere in 2001, if Roger couldn't make that killer drifting three-pointer in Game 2002 of the 5 Finals, would they have succeeded? Everything can only be an if.

This is the end of Phil Jackson's team again. Including the Bulls and Knicks in the 90s, this is his third team broken up by Roger.

This was also Roger's last game in the Hawks uniform. Five years ago, he came here and said he wanted to create a new dynasty. Now, he has finally fulfilled his promise, making the Atlanta Hawks a household name and allowing all Atlanta fans to proudly shout "We are the champions."

Tonight is the founding of an era, but also the end of an era.

Starting tomorrow, the NBA will enter a new chapter.

Shark then remembered that this was the first time he and Roger had hugged each other in five years.

When he hugged Roger, he thought of the three consecutive championships in Orlando and the year 1997 when the dynasty was established.

He loved that year, but now, in the face of the second dynasty that Roger had built in five years, it was no longer worth mentioning.

Because that's just part of Roger's legendary story, and the shark is just a supporting role in it.

Marvin Albert made a final summary of the night when this era ended:

"We don't know what's going to happen this summer, but I believe the league is sensing a changing of the guard.

The next era will be a brand new one, but who says that there must be a brand new protagonist in a brand new era?
Roger is 27 years old this year, and he still has the energy to continue to play a leading role in a new era.

I mean, only he is qualified to play this leading role!
This is NBC TV, I'm Marvin Albert. Welcome to tonight's Game 2002 of the NBA Finals. See you in the next era."

(End of this chapter)