The Suns, with Cassell and Horry orchestrating, saw Finley and Pearson continuously score through mid-range jumpers and fast-break layups, helping the Suns widen the gap!
Seeing the score difference begin to shrink, Lakers coach Harris began making personnel adjustments!
Eddie Jones subbed out, Scott subbed in.
O'Neal subbed out, Cory Blount subbed in.
...
Kobe and He Ximeng remained on the bench.
He Ximeng believed that Kobe was benched mainly due to the presence of veteran Scott.
During the summer training camp, Kobe's abilities in all aspects had suppressed Scott. By rights, Harris should have chosen Kobe as the second shooting guard, not Scott. However, judging by the situation in this game, the Lakers management must have reached some verbal agreement when luring Scott to join on a minimum salary, such as guaranteeing Scott 20 minutes of playing time and at least 6 field goal attempts...
No wonder Scott, despite being repeatedly beaten by Kobe in the summer, still had that smug, deserving-a-beating look... So there was an inside story...
This was very unfair to Kobe...
As for why He Ximeng was benched by the coach, it was likely due to his outstanding performance in the first half...
By the end of the first half, He Ximeng had already recorded 11 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. If He Ximeng was allowed to continue his performance in the second half, Harris worried that He Ximeng's rapid growth in stats would bring bigger trouble to the team...
In the starting lineup, O'Neal, Ceballos, and Van Exel were already clashing fiercely. If He Ximeng were added to the mix... his head would ache...
Therefore, Harris intentionally suppressed He Ximeng, allowing Van Exel to continue finding his rhythm in this game, hoping he could improve his personal stats again. But Van Exel failed to meet Harris's expectations. Not only did he miss shots repeatedly, but the team's offense was also in complete disarray.
The Suns' offense wasn't playing particularly well, but it couldn't compare to the Lakers playing even worse.
The 17-point deficit was gradually narrowed to 9 points!
Unable to stand it any longer, Harris replaced Van Exel with He Ximeng before the end of the third quarter!
However, the lineup on the court was Campbell, Ceballos, Scott, and Cory Blount. Without O'Neal, He Ximeng had little desire to pass!
Upon entering the game, He Ximeng held the ball, feigned a pass to Ceballos, misled Cassell into attempting a steal, and then seized the opportunity to gather the ball and drive with a low post change of direction. After getting past Cassell, he single-handedly drove into the Suns' paint!
The Suns' center, Joe Kleine, slid over, attempting to block He Ximeng's shot. He Ximeng executed a soft layup, skillfully dodging Joe Kleine's outstretched hand and scoring off the glass!
He Ximeng successfully stopped the bleeding for the Lakers, extending their lead back into double digits.
Cassell, having been faked out by He Ximeng, turned around and hit a mid-range jump shot over He Ximeng!
"Little guy, try driving on me again!"
After sinking the jump shot, Cassell flashed a "weird" smile and began to taunt He Ximeng.
Cassell, a first-round pick in 1993, was not old, having just passed his rookie season. However, his playing style was very steady and paced, making him play like a seasoned veteran of over a decade during his rookie years.
Cassell had always considered himself a "veteran" and would inevitably engage in sarcastic remarks towards the league's rookies.
But in reality, Cassell's body was rather slender, and he didn't possess a significant advantage in one-on-one defense. More often than not, he relied on calm anticipation to predict his opponent's next move, allowing him to defend successfully.
Today, with He Ximeng, Cassell had already made two anticipatory errors. Coupled with his poor shooting touch today, he was somewhat frustrated.
Cassell could only resort to his defensive secret weapon: trash talk!
Do not underestimate the power of trash talk! Jordan, Barkley, Garnett were all masters of trash talk!
Most of the time, players used trash talk to boost their own morale and intimidate their opponents.
Some players, however, used trash talk to disrupt their opponents' focus, causing them to lose their calm judgment, become agitated, and lose their reason...
Cassell belonged to the latter category!
His playing style didn't require passion, but to predict more accurately, he needed his opponents to play with emotion, thus falling into his control...
But clearly, this tactic had absolutely no effect on He Ximeng!
Cassell thought He Ximeng, as a rookie, would be easy to trick.
He Ximeng, in turn, considered Cassell, who had played for three years, still a quasi-rookie and thus also easy to trick!
He Ximeng played along with Cassell's little trick, lowering his center of gravity, crouching down, and after calling for Cory Blount's high pick-and-roll, he feigned another drive to the basket. In reality, after the drive, he suddenly pulled back, pretending to retaliate with a pull-up jump shot. This drew the inside defender Joe Kleine to fly up, and He Ximeng then made a no-look pass, a bounce pass to Cory Blount, who was cutting down the middle!
Cory Blount had been diligently setting high picks and screens for He Ximeng throughout the game, and now he was finally reaping the rewards!
After receiving He Ximeng's excellent assist, Cory Blount didn't need any adjustment. He caught the ball and immediately jumped, dunking it with both hands!
Although Ceballos was very unhappy that He Ximeng didn't pass him the ball and even used him as a decoy, he couldn't deny that the two possessions orchestrated by He Ximeng had resulted in scores... As a team, He Ximeng had made the most efficient choices, and no one could question it...
Immediately after, Finley, assisted by Cassell, hit a long two-pointer from the left elbow!
On the Lakers' last possession of the third quarter, He Ximeng tried the same trick again, calling for Cory Blount's high pick-and-roll, intending to score another basket against the Suns. Ceballos used an off-ball cut and successfully created an open lane!
He Ximeng was ultimately accustomed to passing. Although he was very reluctant to pass to Ceballos, the opportunity presented itself, and He Ximeng couldn't resist. He immediately threw the ball into Ceballos's hands. Ceballos caught the ball and dunked, maintaining the Lakers' double-digit lead of 11 points before the end of the third quarter!
As He Ximeng walked off the court, O'Neal playfully high-fived and embraced him in celebration, praising, "Great job!"
However, O'Neal then added in a low voice by his ear, "It would have been perfect if it weren't for that last pass!"
He Ximeng shrugged, indicating it was an accident...
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Coach Del Harris did not field the reserves but instead sent out the entire starting lineup.
Perhaps he felt that the Lakers' starting lineup had been playing too poorly in this game. For the new season, the Lakers would primarily rely on these star players to win games, so even if their form was not optimal, Harris had to endure the discomfort and give them more playing time and opportunities, hoping they could regain their rhythm in actual combat as soon as possible...