May 31, 1997, Los Angeles, Great Western Forum Arena.

The game between the Lakers and Houston went to G5, and in the previous game, the Lakers led 3:1 and held 3 match points, basically establishing the goal of promotion.

Most people thought Houston would give up, but this group of veterans still played a shocking game in Kobe

And the development of the G5 is as expected by most people.

In the final 3 minutes of the game, the Lakers 89:92 Houston.

The course of the game was very similar to that of G4, except that Drexler gave up on offense and focused all on defense.

Although Bryant's scoring efficiency has not decreased much, he has fewer shots. Although this decrease is only relative to the previous game, Kobe Bryant scored 25 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, 1 block and 1 turnover on 10-of-18 shooting.

Drexler, on the other hand, only made three shots in the game, playing the role of a sapper completely.

Ross Barkley, on the other hand, continued to play bravely, and even played harder, acting as the team's leading offensive player in the first three quarters.

The Lakers' power forward position is worthy of a fatal weakness, and Big Ben committed 6 fouls in the early part of the fourth quarter in Barkley's desperate state.

Barkley so far, 11 of 24 shots, 9 of 11 free throws, 31 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 3 turnovers.

In the first three quarters, the battle between O'Neal and Olajuwon has always been O'Neal attacking and Olajuwon defending.

In this battle for the center forward throne that lasted for many games, there was still no sign of stopping in this game, and O'Neal still used his running to tear apart Olajuwon's defense and let him run outside from the penalty area.

As a result, Olajuwon's physical exertion is much greater than usual, which is why Olajuwon hardly attacked in the first three quarters, and he has to save his physical energy until the end.

When it comes to preserving physical fitness, Barkley is actually slightly unhappy with this.

"Boom, boom." Barkley gasped like a pig, he drained himself in the first three quarters to earn a slim lead for his team, and it can be said that Houston's offense was his support.

"If Hakim played the first three quarters and I harvested in the fourth quarter, maybe it would have been better?" Making a wedding dress for someone else is always something to complain about, especially the cautious Barkley. But he knows that this is the prerogative of the team boss, and Olajuwon's position as the boss in Houston is impossible to shake, at least not for the past two years.

At the end of the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant still had a showdown with Olajuwon.

It can be said that so far the game has not been much different from G4.

The game went exactly as Kobe Bryant expected.

The plot in Kobe's small book is that the game is scorched until this time, and then he goes down to earth and harvests the game. Even if his hand was much worse than in the previous game, he believed that he would shoot the final crucial shot.

But the plot development in the last three minutes did not happen at all as he expected, which is also the charm of competitive sports, and no one knows what will happen in the next second.

"Lost! Kobe Bryant's three-point three is not sticky! Are you kidding!? What happened? ”

"Looking back in slow motion, Kobe's movements are as standard as usual, and his shots are still so decisive and resolute, but basketball seems to be disturbed by an inexplicable force."

"It's short, Kobe's three-point shot is too short. No one expected Kobe Bryant to throw a three-no-stick. ”

Bryant looked at his palm in disbelief.

What are you kidding, how can you not stick to it.

Kobe's rare expression of surprise was also broadcast to every audience in front of the TV.

"Hahahaha, I can do it too!" This is the inner thoughts of most viewers at this moment.

"It seems that Kobe Bryant is not a god, and he is not able to dominate the game every time."

"Maybe there was really an element of luck in the last game?"

"Let's see how we do next."

Kobe Bryant pursed his lips.

"Kobe, aim for it and shoot again." Drexler said something cool, and Barkley clutched his stomach and laughed.

Olajuwon cheated old teammate Horry into a foul and hit back-to-back free throws to give the Lakers 89-94 Houston.

At this time, most of the stars will choose to be steady. Either pass the ball to your teammates, or you can score with more certainty and closer to the basket.

But Kobe Bryant doesn't believe in evil!

He's still in the same position! The same way to shoot! Also against Drexler's interference, he threw the ball!

As soon as he made a move, he felt that it was not good.

No, no, I won't go in.

Not only did the basketball not score, but there was also a three-no-stick. O'Neal looked at the basketball that fell into his hand with some confusion.

"Could it be that Kobe Bryant is passing the ball to me?" O'Neill turns and scores the ball.

"It's beautiful."

Lakers 91:94 Houston.

Barkley and Olajuwon were also a little dumbfounded, even having time to grab rebounds and interfere with O'Neal.

Impossible, right?

This is the god-killing Kobe Bryant in the last game?

Or is he just passing?

Looking at Kobe Bryant's face, they realized that it was really not Kobe Bryant's pass, but another three-no-stick.

"Hah! Really! This kid was just lucky before! Now it's time to reveal its true form! ”

"Not necessarily, steady."

Drexler passes to Olajuwon, who lifts the ball high, shakes O'Neal's center of gravity with rhythm, and then hits a step-back jumper.

Lakers 91:96 Houston.

The next ball, do you still shoot?

99% of stars don't choose to shoot anymore, or they don't choose to shoot three-pointers.

But Kobe Bryant is the 1% of players.

Even if I missed 100 times before, I believe I can hit the 101st time!

I can accept failure, but I can't accept timidity and giving up!

It's hard to say whether this paranoid personality is good or bad, but you can't be a Kobe without it.

The next shot, still at the same 45-degree angle, Bryant's three-point rotation shot.

Boost your strength!

Spin it up!

But the trajectory still seems to be a little wrong!

“DUANG！”

A heavy iron sound came.

The basketball smashed into the hoop.

Olajuwon grabbed the rebound quickly and dribbled to the front court to complete a one-handed dunk by a center across the court.

Lakers 91:98 Houston.

Bryant was speechless.

Harris pauses.

O'Neal came over and hugged Kobe Bryant's head.

"It's okay, it's all a small scene."

Kobe Bryant looked up to the sky and sighed, this scene seemed somewhat familiar.

Did the series with the Jazz that year also have this scene?