After losing weight and going all out, he can still confront O'Neal, and tonight O'Neal is clearly off his game.
After being consecutively scored on by Gan Guoyang, tension and panic gradually spread deep within O'Neal's heart — is he going to lose again? Is he going to experience another failing season?
This is already his eighth season, and he has yet to truly prove himself with a championship. Are the criticisms and humiliations of past summers going to continue?
O'Neal's concentration was visibly lacking, and in the next attack, after being double-teamed by Gan Guoyang and Sabonis, he made a passing error.
He handed the ball intended for the cutting Robert Horry, but the pass was too high and went out of bounds, handing the ball to the Trail Blazers. The situation was becoming more and more dire.
Seizing the opportunity during a dead ball, Phil Jackson made a substitution, replacing Tracy McGrady with Ron Harper. He needed the veteran to stabilize the lineup.
