O'Neal finally felt a sense of rhythm in scoring, and he didn't want He Ximeng to be taken off the court so soon.
"No problem! It was just a minor car accident..."
"Car accident?" O'Neal was stunned for a moment, then understood what He Ximeng meant. He turned to the approaching referee and said, "No problem! This kid can still joke, he's fully conscious!"
With the help of O'Neal and Cory Blount's large hands, He Ximeng gently pulled himself up from the floor and stretched his back.
"Well, thanks to Kayla's good coaching, training core strength every night. This back… is solid!"
Seeing that He Ximeng was not injured, head coach Harris on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief. Van Exel, who looked on with anticipation, was disappointed.
"Oakley's core strength isn't all that impressive after all… such a good opportunity, and he couldn't even injure that Chinese kid? At least, a concussion should have been in order…"
The Lakers continued to inbound the ball. After He Ximeng brought it past half-court, he still passed to O'Neal.
This time, He Ximeng didn't cut inside. Instead, he called for Eddie Jones on the wing and executed a screen-away play, then extended his hand for the ball on the wing.
O'Neal made a strong post-up against Ewing. Seeing He Ximeng open, he passed the ball without hesitation.
He Ximeng faked a shot, throwing off Charlie Ward with a pump fake, then dribbled towards the free-throw line, cutting horizontally.
The paint was too crowded. With three interior players from the Knicks and three from the Lakers, such a paint was a nightmare for perimeter players; they could run into a wall of flesh at any moment.
He Ximeng cut horizontally into the middle, wanting to draw out the Knicks' interior players, to see if he could pull them out and create an opportunity for O'Neal to slip to the basket.
But having learned from the previous play, Ewing had already rotated back, denying O'Neal the chance to turn and drive.
Oakley, with a sinister grin, lunged forward, trying to bait He Ximeng into a one-on-one matchup…
"If you have the guts, clear out the paint! If you clear out the paint, I'll torch you," He Ximeng thought, seeing Oakley come forward, but Larry Johnson had sunk low, and the paint was still as crowded. He Ximeng, however, was unwilling to force the issue.
In such a situation, if he forcibly drove deep into the paint…
Ewing on the left, Larry Johnson on the right, and Oakley behind him… wouldn't he be squeezed into a meat patty?
Van Exel, known as "Van the Man," didn't drive inside in such a situation and showed rare restraint. Was He Ximeng foolish enough to do so?
He turned back to the three-point line and adopted a shooting stance.
At this moment, Charlie Ward had not yet recovered defensively. Allan Houston, desperate to stop He Ximeng, had even left Eddie Jones open…
He Ximeng was waiting for a defensive lapse from the Knicks.
O'Neal wasn't open inside, but Eddie Jones was open on the perimeter!
With a no-look bounce pass, He Ximeng successfully assisted Eddie Jones for a wing three-pointer!
Since coming onto the court, He Ximeng wasn't rigid about just feeding the ball to O'Neal in the post. In a sense, his execution wasn't as obedient as Van Exel, who had been benched, but the results seemed more efficient than when Van Exel was on the court.
The Lakers' offense was no longer one-dimensional and stagnant; it became agile and fluid.
O'Neal made an inside dunk and Eddie Jones hit an outside three-pointer, helping the Lakers extend their lead. He Ximeng smoothly garnered two assists.
Following that, Allan Houston made a mid-range pull-up jumper against Eddie Jones.
He Ximeng continued to run the "in-out" offense around O'Neal. Whether he could "in" again would depend on the Knicks' defensive adjustments.
On this play, after O'Neal passed back, He Ximeng faked, pretending to pass inside to Campbell again. In reality, he gathered the ball and pulled up for a three-pointer outside the arc, which also went in!
8:10. Since coming onto the court, He Ximeng had quickly helped the Lakers break open the game.
The Lakers' current style of play seemed to revolve around O'Neal in the post, but in reality, it was centered around O'Neal while quietly seeking opportunities on the perimeter.
Eddie Jones and He Ximeng each hitting a three-pointer was the best evidence of this.
Coach Jeff Van Gundy thought this was Harris's latest adjustment but remained unmoved.
As one of the representatives of stubborn head coaches, Jeff Van Gundy's work ethic was undeniable, but his rigidity, stubbornness, and lack of on-the-fly adjustment ability were also typical in the league.
This was where Harris and Jeff Van Gundy differed.
Coach Harris's nickname in the league was "The Silver Fox," referring to his versatile tactics and unpredictable player rotations.
He Ximeng had personally experienced the unpredictability of Mr. Silver Fox.
After He Ximeng helped the Lakers open up the game, Coach Harris waved his hand and recalled He Ximeng to the bench, bringing in Van Exel to continue the style of play He Ximeng had just established.
At the same time, he replaced Cory Blount with J.R. Rider, deliberately reducing the congestion in the paint and shifting the offensive focus to the perimeter.
Van Exel didn't have a strong ability to optimize tactics, but he could imitate He Ximeng's style, especially shooting from three-point range… and he played quite competently!
With Eddie Jones, Van Exel, and Rider, the Lakers broke free from their entanglement with the Knicks in the paint, actively firing from mid-to-long range, which in turn reduced the pressure on O'Neal's shoulders in the paint.
Meanwhile, Allan Houston also scored frequently for the Knicks with his mid-range shooting ability.
As both teams' offenses gradually found their rhythm, by the end of the first quarter, when He Ximeng and Kobe entered the game together, the score was tied at 20:20.
The Knicks fielded their reserve center, veteran Buck Williams, first-round pick (18th overall) small forward John Wallace, and point guard John Starks.
Coach Jeff Van Gundy disliked large-rotation lineups, so these three were the only ones to enter the rotation.
He retained Allan Houston and Larry Johnson from the starting lineup.
This adjustment by the Knicks forced the Lakers to refrain from using a pure reserve rotation.
While fielding Kobe, He Ximeng, and Cory Blount, Coach Harris kept Campbell and Rider to stabilize the team!
Kobe was very active after coming on. He constantly roamed the wings, looking for opportunities with back cuts and off-ball movement.
He Ximeng originally wanted to connect with Cory Blount for an inside play, but seeing Kobe's demeanor, he figured Kobe would be relentless if he didn't get the ball.