The game ended, and a cheerful O’Neal jogged over with a grin to hug the Suns players.
"Anfernee, you guys were just *this* short on luck." O’Neal pinched his fingers together, leaving a gap the size of a pinprick, and chuckled smugly.
Looking at O’Neal’s smug face, Hardaway speechlessly rolled his eyes at him but still left him with a parting shot, "Shaq, we’re going to win the next one."
O’Neal was completely unfazed, even shrugging his shoulders with a hint of smugness.
’Win? What are you going to win with?’
’As long as I find my form again, no one can stop me.’
The next moment, O’Neal was swarmed by a horde of reporters.
O’Neal, who had dominated the game with 46 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks, was without a doubt the only superstar of the match!
"Our opponents were tough. They played very well. You saw how hard Penny was to deal with at the end. I think he scored over 30 points too. He’s really good, but unfortunately for them, we’re better," O’Neal said with a wide grin, unable to hide his smug satisfaction.
He might as well have had "I’m amazing, I dominated this game" written all over his face.
It was a true moment of vindication.
After going up 2-0, he had watched the Suns win three straight, even losing the crucial Celestial King Mountain game. His own sluggish performance in the previous two games had nearly gotten him roasted alive by the Lakers fans and media.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that O’Neal hadn’t even dared to look at a newspaper those few days.
But today, he had become the savior!
After finishing the interview, O’Neal smugly fulfilled a few fans’ requests for autographs before finally heading back to the locker room.
The locker room was, naturally, a scene of jubilation.
The Suns, riding a huge wave of momentum after winning three straight, had everyone worried before the game that this would be it—they’d be sent home for the summer, losing their chance at a glorious three-peat.
"Our hero has returned!" Old Horry cheered, and the others immediately started to whoop and holler.
Old Horry even stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and placed a fisted right hand over his chest, like a knight being coronated, ready to offer the highest respect to his king.
O’Neal’s grin stretched practically to the heavens. While he excitedly high-fived everyone in celebration, he noticed Kobe out of the corner of his eye.
Kobe was sitting silently in his spot. While everyone else came over to celebrate with him, he didn’t move an inch. He even turned and went straight into the showers.
O’Neal snorted, feeling an even greater sense of satisfaction.
"Shaq, that was brilliant. This is what I want. Unleash your dominance. No one on the Suns can stop you!" Jackson came up and hugged O’Neal.
O’Neal grinned, like a shark baring its teeth.
Jackson added, "By the way, you and Kobe will go to the post-game press conference together in a bit. You were both heroes in our win today."
Kobe’s performance today had been absolutely dreadful. He had only scored 11 points in the entire game—just 6 if you excluded free throws—on 3-for-14 shooting. It could be described as a disaster-class performance.
But Jackson felt it was understandable, given that he had faced relentless double-teams from the Suns’ perimeter defense.
Kobe was developing rapidly, but his skills were still a bit raw. After all, not everyone could be Jordan.
So there was nothing to blame him for.
But the conflict between the two was a thorn in Jackson’s side, and he was very concerned about it. Sending them to the press conference together and calling them both heroes of the win was his attempt to proactively resolve their friction.
In Jackson’s mind, as long as they were winning, the conflict should be manageable.
O’Neal paused for a moment, then nodded without saying anything.
But as soon as Jackson walked away, a flicker of contempt and disdain flashed in O’Neal’s eyes.
’A hero in our win? If Kobe had just made a few more shots, the Lakers would have won this game long ago.’
O’Neal even felt that the only reason Kobe was able to drop 40-plus in the previous two games was that the Suns had focused their defense on him. It was *he* who had drawn the defense, creating wide-open shooting opportunities for Kobe on the perimeter.
’And the moment the Suns got serious today, he immediately showed his true colors!’
’So if the Lakers want to win, they still have to rely on me.’
Thinking about how everyone had come to congratulate him except for Kobe, who had run off to shower and chosen to ignore him, O’Neal’s annoyance grew.
’This young punk, tagging along for two Championship Rings with me, really doesn’t know his own place.’
After his shower, O’Neal didn’t call for Kobe. He just went to the post-game press conference by himself.
Kobe followed him over. Jackson had clearly spoken to him.
The spacious press conference room was packed with reporters. The moment the two sat down, the CLICK-CLICK-CLICK of camera shutters was non-stop.
Although he was furious inside, this was an official press conference. In the NBA, there was an unwritten rule that no matter the conflict, you don’t air it out at the post-game presser.
So, O’Neal suppressed his anger and answered the questions mechanically.
But after just two questions, O’Neal couldn’t hold his anger back any longer.
A reporter asked Kobe how he felt about his own volatile performance—dropping 40-plus in the previous two games but shooting only 20% in this one—and about his contribution to the team.
It was a very pointed question, twisting the knife in the wound.
O’Neal glanced at the reporter who asked the question. Sure enough, it was someone from the Arizona Republic, a local Phoenix reporter.
Kobe’s brow furrowed. The question had clearly hit a nerve. He gritted his teeth and retorted sharply, "You should watch the game more closely and see the kind of defensive pressure I was under the whole time. And I don’t think I didn’t contribute to the team. On the contrary, I think a big reason we were able to win today has to do with my hard work defending Penny on the perimeter and drawing the Suns’ defense."
’Without me drawing the defense, could O’Neal have had it so easy in the paint, like he was in an unguarded land?’
When those words reached O’Neal’s ears, he wanted to laugh.
’How does he have the nerve to say that?’
’Hard work defending Penny? You sure worked hard, letting Hardaway score 33 points.’
At that moment, O’Neal felt the fire in his heart becoming uncontrollable. So when a reporter finally asked him what they needed to do to win the upcoming Game 7, he couldn’t help but let out a string of passive-aggressive comments.
"I think, first of all, we need to ensure our offensive success rate, and make our shot selection a little more reasonable."
That one sentence made the color drain from Kobe’s face beside him.
The reporters below were as sharp as they come, the kind of people who could spin a story out of thin air. How could they not read between the lines of O’Neal’s comment?
In an instant, all the reporters turned to look at Kobe.
Ensuring offensive success rate, more reasonable shot selection—this was clearly a jab at Kobe for his wild shots and low shooting percentage.
And O’Neal’s rant wasn’t over. "We also need to be more united, move the ball, pass it to the open man, to a higher percentage spot. That’s been the secret to our success all along, the key to us achieving the glory of a two-peat."
The eyes of the reporters below were gleaming.
Pass the ball more, and pass it to a high-percentage spot. This was an obvious criticism of Kobe for not passing him the ball, since everyone knew O’Neal was the bigger threat in the paint.
At the very end, O’Neal even called him out, saying the reason the Lakers had won two straight championships was because everyone passed him the ball, and that *he* was the most important reason for the two-peat.
CLATTER.
Just as everyone was still mulling over and analyzing O’Neal’s words, Kobe, without any warning, suddenly stood up. His chair made a loud noise on the stage.
Then, under everyone’s gaze, Kobe simply turned and walked straight out of the press conference.
All the reporters were stunned. The room erupted in an uproar!
O’Neal was stunned too, but then a wave of inexplicable rage surged through him.
’Who do you think you’re giving that attitude to?!’
「Far away in Japan.」
「June 2nd.」
The United States Team had traveled thousands of miles to Niigata to prepare for their first match against Croatia tomorrow.
They arrived in the morning, but Alina still arranged a training session in the afternoon to get used to the pitch.
He took this match very seriously.
After all, their opponent was Croatia, the third-place finisher in the last World Cup.
Although their squad was aging and still living off their ’98 legacy, they were still the third-place team.
In comparison, the United States Team was practically a nobody.
"The weather forecast for tomorrow says it might rain," assistant coach Andy Dunbar said worriedly on the bus.
Niigata was known as the "snow country," with heavy snowfall in the winter. In the summer, it was humid and sweltering, with occasional rain. This time, they had been unlucky enough to run into it.
Alina’s brow was also furrowed. But things like wind and rain were out of his control. He could only sigh and say, "It’s best if it doesn’t, but if it really does, there’s nothing we can do."
With that, he looked over at Chen Yu and reminded him, "Chen, if it does rain, your medical team needs to be prepared."
Chen Yu nodded.
The United States Team’s medical staff consisted of four people, including himself.
The other three were the team doctors from the last World Cup; he was just a temporary addition.
And just as Alina said, if it rained during the match, the pitch would be slippery. Not to mention the impact on the game itself, the players would be very susceptible to injury.
Even after the game was over, they had to consider things like keeping warm to prevent players from catching colds.
As they spoke, the bus arrived at Niigata Stadium.
It was a multi-purpose stadium, not very large, with a capacity of just over forty thousand people.
Everyone disembarked in an orderly fashion.
Chen Yu looked up at the sky. It was a bit overcast.
The temperature was in the low seventies, but it was humid, stuffy, and hot. Stepping off the air-conditioned bus, it didn’t take long to feel sticky all over.
This kind of weather could really affect the players’ condition, making them easily irritable and agitated.
Seeing Andy Dunbar next to him, tugging at his collar to cool off, an idea suddenly struck Chen Yu.
’Maybe I can add some cooling herbal tea to the diet for today and tomorrow, something to reduce irritability and clear internal heat.’
’Things like mint or honeysuckle. I could make a recipe and brew a pot of herbal tea. It should have some effect.’
’We’re in Japan, anyway. The ingredients should be easy to buy.’
’I’m not expecting a miracle, but it’s better than nothing.’
The group headed to the pitch.
As before, wherever the United States Team went, the security was always top-notch.
However, there were still quite a few reporters on the sidelines.
In fact, there seemed to be a few too many.
In the past, the United States Team had been largely ignored. They never got this kind of treatment.
’But they probably aren’t here for Croatia,’ he thought. ’Their pitch training session was scheduled for this morning.’
Just as he was thinking this, the reporters surged forward, only to be stopped by security. But many of them were shouting Chen Yu’s name.
Chen Yu was a bit surprised. ’Why are they calling for me?’
"Chen, can Zidane return for the second group stage match?"
"How is Zidane’s muscle strain recovery coming along?"
After listening for a moment, Chen Yu immediately understood. It was still about Zidane.
It made sense. The France Team was the media’s darling.
Chen Yu naturally wouldn’t answer these kinds of questions, but just as he was about to walk away, he suddenly heard a reporter among the crowd ask a rather unusual question.
He asked Chen Yu for his opinion on the conflict between Kobe and O’Neal.
Chen Yu stopped in his tracks and walked straight over.
’Kobe and O’Neal are having a conflict? Since when?’
The do-or-die Game 7 was scheduled to start on June 2nd, United States time.
That was tomorrow morning Japan time. The outcome of an entire season of effort for the Phoenix Suns was on the line, and Chen Yu had been looking forward to this game.

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