However, it must be admitted that Kobe had already achieved considerable skill in imitating Jordan's classic moves.
If it were during the regular season, the "God of Basketball" might have chuckled and praised: "Good imitation!" upon seeing Kobe's moves.
But in the Finals… forget it! Even if "God of Basketball" had a heart as big as the sky, he would now wish for Kobe's shot to clang off the rim. Unfortunately, Kobe's shot went in precisely.
The Lakers scored 4 unanswered points early in the second quarter. The Bulls attempted to stabilize the situation with a successful offensive play, but Pippen's precise pass to Burrell, who was cutting to the basket, resulted in a missed layup, giving the Lakers another opportunity to counterattack.
Kobe grabbed the defensive rebound and sprinted with the ball all the way to the Bulls' half-court, aiming to complete a solo scoring drive. However, at the final layup, he was met with a strong block from Rodman, who was willing to commit a fierce foul to stop Kobe.
Kobe went to the free-throw line. He made the first shot, but the second one bounced off the rim.
Rodman secured the rebound and passed to Kerr for the advance. Kerr brought the ball past half-court and handed it over to Pippen for control.
The Bulls had missed three consecutive offensive attempts and were trailing the Lakers by 5 points. If this offensive possession also failed, the "Zen Master" would likely call a timeout.
Fortunately, Pippen was a determined player. Seeing that his teammates were currently unreliable, he decisively initiated a personal offensive drive. Pushing past Fox, he drove into the Lakers' paint and took a short jump shot, finally helping the Bulls break their scoring drought.
However, Pippen's jump shot did not reverse the Bulls' deficit. On the Lakers' next possession, Van Exel drove and dished, and Eddie Jones, from beyond the three-point line, shot and hit a three-pointer, extending the Lakers' lead to 6 points.
The "Zen Master" couldn't hold back any longer and promptly called a timeout, disrupting the Lakers' offensive rhythm and initiating a lineup adjustment.
Jordan replaced the out-of-form Burrell. Kukoc came in for the ineffective Simpkins. Harper replaced Pipen, who had not rested at all.
The Bulls' lineup was adjusted to: Rodman at center, Kukoc at power forward, Harper at small forward, Jordan at shooting guard, and Kerr at point guard.
The Lakers also began their adjustments. O'Neal re-entered the game, as did Hesi. Eddie Jones went to the bench for a rest, and Fox also left the court.
The Lakers' lineup was adjusted to: O'Neal, Campbell, Kobe, Hesi, Van Exel.
Hesi did not want to directly guard "God of Basketball," so he moved to the small forward position, continuing to guard Harper.
"God of Basketball" called for Kukoc and Harper to continue running the triangle offense, with Kerr spacing the floor on the weak side.
Kukoc used a screen to help "God of Basketball" shake off Kobe's defense. "God of Basketball" then exploited the mismatch, driving hard at Campbell. He faked a drive, drawing Campbell into motion, and then executed a sudden stop. By the time Campbell reacted to the sudden halt, "God of Basketball" was already sticking out his tongue and easily hitting a pull-up jump shot.
Preying on muscular players like Campbell was a skill "God of Basketball" had long mastered.
Hesi, unable to stand seeing "God of Basketball" bullying the "weak," called for a high-post screen from O'Neal, drawing Rodman out. He then passed the ball to Campbell in the low post. While it was difficult for Campbell to directly exact revenge on "God of Basketball," he had a decent chance of using his physical advantage against Kukoc.
Although Campbell was a bit surprised by Hesi's arrangement, he cherished this rare opportunity for a one-on-one matchup in the paint.
He backed down Kukoc, turned, drove to the basket, and slammed home a two-handed dunk.
"Well done, Elden!" Hesi offered his unreserved praise after Campbell's powerful dunk.
Campbell and Hesi did not have a good relationship in private. Although their positional conflict wasn't as direct as with Van Exel, their relationship was still poor. When Hesi first arrived at the Lakers, Campbell hadn't responded to him with much friendliness, and as a result, after Hesi established himself on the team, he wasn't inclined to reciprocate that friendliness.
Even when playing together for several seasons, not all teammates on the same team get along perfectly.
Unifying everyone requires a coach with considerable prestige and skillful handling. Simultaneously, the team's leader also bears a significant responsibility. After O'Neal edged out Ceballos, he outwardly unified the Lakers, but internally, there were at least two distinct factions. One was led by Van Exel and Campbell, and the other by Hesi and Kobe.
The bottom line for the club or coaching staff was that personal relationships could be strained, but they should not interfere with tactical execution on the court.
Hesi's strategy was to reduce Campbell's shooting opportunities without affecting the team's tactical execution. This left Campbell aware that Hesi was targeting him but unable to do anything about it. Because Hesi would pass to Horry or O'Neal instead of Campbell, he wasn't hogging possessions himself, so Campbell had no grounds for complaint.
However, today, facing the formidable Bulls and seeing Campbell being bullied by "God of Basketball," Hesi firmly stood by Campbell's side! After all, they were on the same team!
Internal conflicts could exist, but they must never allow external enemies to exploit vulnerabilities, nor should they invite outside forces to punish their own.
Any dissatisfaction among their own people could be resolved behind closed doors.
Perhaps Campbell never expected that something he had tried many ways to achieve – to ease the awkwardness in his relationship with Hesi – would be resolved with the "assist" from "God of Basketball."
Campbell couldn't say whether they would ultimately win a championship ring, but his relationship with Hesi should significantly improve after this game.
The game continued, with "God of Basketball" continuing to use the triangle offense to exploit mismatches against Campbell. However, this time, Hesi had already rotated back, helping Campbell delay "God of Basketball" and preventing him from easily driving past.
"God of Basketball" then passed back to Harper at the high post. Because Hesi had come to help Campbell double-team "God of Basketball," Harper was momentarily open.
Harper took the shot, but the ball bounced off the rim. Campbell secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Hesi for the advance.
Hesi pushed the ball in a fast break, with Van Exel and Kobe flanking him closely. Hesi faked a pass to Van Exel on his left but instead pulled back and passed to Kobe on his right. Kobe received the ball and took flight, completely ignoring "God of Basketball" trailing him. He unleashed a one-handed dunk, giving "God of Basketball" no chance to block it.