Chapter 1086 - 347: The Court May Not Judge You, but the Savior Can

Words : 997 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

So this season Phil Jackson had no choice but to rely heavily on Karl Malone and Theo Ratliff. During the regular season, because these two inside players were pushed too hard by the farmer’s tactics, they were frequently plagued by minor injuries, resulting in low attendance rates. This is why the Lakers’ regular-season record was only fourth in the West. However, no matter how heavily they were relied upon, Karl Malone and Theo Ratliff couldn’t play the full 48 minutes. There were always times when both were off the court. Stoudemire seized this as an opportunity to dominate, engaging in a fierce exchange with Nash during the rotation time. Since neither could stop the other, the score gap remained largely unchanged. After three minutes, with Stoudemire aggressively breaking through Horace Grant and directly delivering a ferocious dunk over Medvedenko, the Warriors took a 4-point lead again. The game paused, marking the end of the short performance by Nash and Stoudemire. Their exchange seemed more like a halftime show in a tense game, like a ring girl in a bloody boxing match, serving only to let the fans catch their breath. The whole world knew that the upcoming 9 minutes would belong to God and Satan! As the timeout ended, Roger didn’t stand up. He sat on the bench, scanning everyone with furrowed brows, then shouted loudly: "Beat LA!" Over at the Lakers’ bench, Kobe also didn’t stand up immediately. He stared at his hands, muttering to himself softly: "Fvck Warriors!" Roger stood up and shouted again in the crowd: "Beat LA!" Kobe stood up, gritting his teeth, and growled: "Fvck Warriors!" Both teams’ players were infected by the emotions of Roger and Kobe, and they began to shout angrily with their leading stars. "Beat LA!" "Fvck Warriors!" "Beat LA!" "Fvck Warriors!" The shouts alternated and rose on the court, and the intensity between the two teams continued to grow. Roger and Kobe stepped onto the court, like two knights fully armed for a duel. This was a battle concerning honor and status. At this moment, both teams had a change in their lineups. The Lakers subbed Nash out to rest, while the Warriors rotated out Stoudemire. This meant that the defensive pressure on both sides reduced significantly, which also meant that the defense on the two main stars would be tighter. Because others could finally lend a hand. The Lakers attacked, with Kobe eagerly desiring victory, as usual, going one-on-one against Prince, having completely dominated the sophomore Little Prince today. Once again, using his body to aggressively drive to the mid-range, Kobe came to a sudden stop, nudging Prince with his ball-protecting hand, before pulling up for a jump shot. But this time, Roger reached out from Kobe’s side, successfully disrupting Kobe and breaking his rhythm. "Bang!" "The ball ricocheted off the rim, and Roger finally was able to help his little brother on defense!" Al Michaels gave a sigh of relief for Prince. He was genuinely afraid that Kobe would beat this sophomore rookie into a slump from which he couldn’t recover. With Steve Nash on the bench, Roger had plenty of energy to deal with Kobe. The Warriors immediately went on the counteroffensive; Roger ran off Mutombo’s screen completely bypassing George Lynch. Faced with Theo Ratliff’s switch defense block, he chose to step back to the three-point line to shoot. But Karl Malone appeared out of nowhere, grazing Roger’s shot with his fingertips, successfully blocking it! Evidently, once Karl Malone didn’t need to defend Stoudemire, he could expand his defensive range beyond the three-point line, effectively protecting George Lynch’s back. "Go to hell, you promiscuous bastard!" Malone laughed heartily as he cursed at Roger after the block. "At least I don’t mess with minors, you perverted Mailman." Roger shot back at Malone, but being blocked definitely left him irritated. The current situation was just like that — the offensive environment for both Kobe and Roger had become extremely difficult. Jeff Van Gundy looked at the not-so-high shooting percentage of both sides, smiling like a pervert: "I like this game; both teams have taken defense to the extreme, and that’s the art of the playoffs. Trust me, the fourth quarter won’t be the offensive battle people imagine, but a defensive duel with blood flying!" But Jeff Van Gundy was immediately proved wrong. He underestimated the firepower of Roger and Kobe. This time, Karl Malone held the ball in the low post, not to attack but as a pivot for the Triangle Offense, assisting it to Kobe at the right mid-range. Kobe caught the ball, made a feint, then pivoted on the spot to create space, and took a jump shot. As expected, Roger once again came over to help on defense, leaving the subbed-in-place-of-Nash Fisher completely unguarded. Kobe didn’t pass to the small fish, not because he was being selfish, but because Fisher’s form this season was terribly atrocious. In the regular season, Fisher played all 82 games, shooting just 35% from the field and 29% from three-point range. His performance didn’t warm up entering the playoffs either. You can’t include something as strongly incidental as a "0.4-second playoff buzzer-beater" as part of a player’s capabilities. Kobe continued to shoot amidst the double interference from Prince and Roger, while Mutombo and Karl Malone, the two old teammates, were elbowing each other under the basket, fighting for the rebound position. But the basketball hit the right side of the hoop and bounced into the net; Kobe Bryant scored his 38th point of the game, cutting the deficit to just 2 points! In just one possession, Kobe had already adapted to the feeling of being double-teamed. Al Michaels shrugged: "Roger and Kobe won’t turn this game into a defensive battle; as long as there’s a game with Kobe and Roger, it can never be a defensive showdown!." After scoring, Kobe glanced at Roger: "Stop wasting your energy. Do you really think I’m afraid of being double-teamed?"

Chapter 1086 - 347: The Court May Not Judge You, but the Savior Can

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