Seeing Eddie Jones easily score two points, Kobe on the sidelines remained outwardly calm but inwardly regretted it! If he were on the court, that opportunity Eddie Jones just had would have undoubtedly been his...
Iverson continued to dribble and attack, this time choosing to drive all the way, facing Campbell and leaning on Hexi Meng, he forced a layup to score, helping the 76ers open the scoring.
Turning around, Hexi Meng's choice was still to pass! This time, it was a half-court offense, and he passed to Horry, who was cutting down the middle after a pick-and-roll!
Horry received the ball and drove for three steps. Ratliff couldn't block and committed a shooting foul!
Horry went to the free-throw line, made the first shot, and then the second!
Shaquille O'Neal, in a suit on the sidelines, immediately applauded Horry warmly: "Those free throws, that's so t/"
Fox grabbed the offensive rebound and immediately passed it to Hexi Meng, who ran over to receive it!
This time, Hexi Meng didn't hesitate. He pulled up for a shot, giving Iverson no chance to interfere. The ball swished into the net, and Hexi Meng hit his first three-pointer of the game!
In the early stages of the game, Iverson used his offense and Hexi Meng used his playmaking. The two point guards, each in their own way, helped their respective teams score. The scores between the two teams rose alternately, and the Lakers did not hold a significant advantage. However, halfway through the first quarter, Harris replaced Fox with Kobe. The Lakers' offense and defense were further strengthened.
The Lakers began to gradually take the lead, but at the end of the first quarter, Hexi Meng, Eddie Jones, and the other Lakers starters were substituted out. When Kobe partnered with Van Exel, the Lakers' offense became somewhat chaotic, and Iverson seized the opportunity to lead a counter-attack, leveling the score again.
The first quarter ended with a score of 27:27. Iverson played the entire 12 minutes of the first quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Kobe was also replaced by Harris, and Fox came on to partner with Van Exel. Coach Harris kept Kobe on the bench for the latter part of the quarter, to play with the starting lineup.
Iverson... Iverson continued to play, not resting for a minute!
Besides Iverson, the Philadelphia 76ers' Jim Jackson was also playing aggressively!
Jim Jackson had previously been with the Mavericks, where he was known as one of the "Dallas 3J" along with Kidd and Jamal Mashburn. They were doing well, but due to a woman, Toni Braxton, the three brothers fell out and almost came to blows...
In reality, the woman was just an excuse! The real conflict was over playing time and shot attempts, which were unevenly distributed!
Jim Jackson was the 4th overall pick in the 1992 draft, Jamal Mashburn was the 4th overall pick in the 1993 draft, and Kidd was the 2nd overall pick in the 1994 draft. Among the three, Jim Jackson was the most senior and naturally considered himself the team leader!
But Kidd was a point guard who needed a lot of the ball to maximize his abilities. Jamal Mashburn's role in the team was similar to Jim Jackson's, both being strong scorers!
Kidd would take away Jim Jackson's ball-handling, while Jamal Mashburn would take away Jim Jackson's shot attempts!
If the three could have taken a step back, the Dallas Three J's had the potential to become a Big Three. But unfortunately, their internal struggles gave head coach Dick Motta a headache! Many of the Mavericks' wins were squandered by their own players.
Ultimately, the issue of "competing for affection" became the fuse, and the Mavericks management used it as an excuse to clear all three players from the team.
Jim Jackson first went to the Nets and then to the Philadelphia 76ers, beginning his wandering journey across the league. His decent individual ability allowed Jim Jackson to always find work, but his unruly personality and his unwillingness to be outdone by anyone meant that Jim Jackson never stayed long on any team.
Kidd was traded to the Suns and then went to the Nets. Although Kidd led both the Suns and the Nets to respectable regular season and playoff records, he never managed to win a championship until he returned to the Mavericks and finally achieved his goal.
Jamal Mashburn was traded to the Heat and partnered with Mourning. Although they were frequent playoff participants, they never managed to break through and were eventually traded to the Hornets, where he played until retirement.
During his time with the 76ers, Jim Jackson's performance was actually not bad. But the old problem was that Jim Jackson saw Iverson as young and inexperienced, and immediately harbored ulterior motives, constantly fighting for shot attempts with Iverson...
In this game, Iverson took 22 shots and scored 31 points and 11 assists.
Jim Jackson took 18 shots and scored 28 points and 8 assists.
Frankly, Jim Jackson's performance was truly not inferior to Iverson's.
And because of Jim Jackson's excellent play, the Lakers' combination of Eddie Jones and Kobe was indeed struggling to contain the 76ers!
The two teams battled for three quarters, and the Lakers were unable to pull away.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the exasperated Hexi Meng also joined the scoring spree!
Hexi Meng's first shot was a feigned pass to Eddie Jones on the wing, drawing Iverson's defensive attention. He then suddenly pulled up and hit an extended three-pointer from a step beyond the arc!
Hexi Meng's second shot came after a pick-and-roll with Kobe. He passed to Kobe, who drove again and was double-teamed by three 76ers players. Forced to pass back to Hexi Meng, who was open, Hexi Meng caught the ball and hit a three-pointer from the 30-degree angle on the right side.
Hexi Meng's third shot came after a play with Horry. He cut around the basket and went to the left corner!
Horry, who was posting up Coleman, saw this and immediately passed him the ball!
Hexi Meng caught the ball and hit another three-pointer from the zero-degree angle...