Chapter 535: Extreme One for One Exchange
The scoreboard read 9 to 14 when Phil Jackson called a timeout.
The Zen Master and D'Antoni were thinking along similar lines. Both wanted to seize the initiative early, or at the very least avoid falling behind by too much.
After the timeout, the Lakers had the ball.
Kobe and Garnett went into a pick and roll, the most dangerous action in the Lakers' offense. Kobe came off the screen to his right, but instead of charging straight into the paint at full speed, he kept the dribble alive and read the floor.
Nash left Fisher and stepped in to cut off Kobe's path. Chen Yan instantly rotated to cover Fisher. Kobe did not pass. He kept dribbling along the baseline, then fired a short bounce pass to Camby.
Camby had deep position, but Stoudemire refused to give ground. He was playing angry tonight. His miserable performance in the last game had been eating at him ever since.
Camby backed him down once, then went to a short hook.
Clang.
The shot missed.
Stoudemire reacted immediately, turning and snatching the rebound before the Lakers could crash the glass.
He secured it and whipped the ball ahead to the frontcourt. Chen Yan caught it in stride, but James Posey instantly reached out and committed the foul before Chen Yan could get to the rim.
"That is a smart foul," Barkley said on the TNT broadcast. "If you let Chen Yan get all the way to the basket, that is probably 2 points and a highlight."
Kenny Smith nodded. "Posey is a very disciplined defender. Calm, active, and always aware of the situation. That is exactly why Phil Jackson trusts him in the starting lineup."
Chen Yan walked to the line and calmly knocked down both free throws for his 8th point of the game.
The score moved to 9 to 16.
With the home crowd roaring, the Suns dropped back on defense.
Phoenix packed its defenders inside the 3 point line, clearly focused on taking away the Lakers' drives and interior offense.
As expected, Los Angeles went right back inside. Garnett caught the ball and was doubled immediately. The Lakers moved it in and out, then found Garnett again. This time Phoenix raised the pressure even more, and the restricted area turned into a full scale wrestling match.
Garnett turned into a fadeaway, realized the space was too tight, and while still in the air, shoveled the ball to Camby.
It was an unbelievably cramped possession.
Diaw got a hand on the ball, and it bounced loose.
But Garnett got lucky. After a few wild deflections, the ball came right back to him.
He gathered himself and powered up under the rim.
Stoudemire, standing nearby, put both hands on Garnett and yanked him out of the air.
Bang.
Garnett crashed flat onto his back.
Kobe and several Lakers immediately rushed toward Stoudemire, ready to stand up for their teammate.
Chen Yan was the first one in front of Stoudemire. Diaw, Grant Hill, and Nash followed right behind him.
The Suns were locked in too. No one was going to let a teammate stand alone.
Just as both sides were jawing at each other, Garnett popped back up like a spring.
He was lean, but his body was all tendon and steel. He was tough enough to take that hit.
He lunged around the side of the crowd and swung at Stoudemire.
Normally Garnett knew how to play the game. He could posture, bark, and back off at the right moment. But tonight he had been planted on the floor in front of everyone. If he backed down now, how was he supposed to keep playing with any edge?
The punch missed.
It was a tactical miss. Garnett wanted to get his point across, not blow the whole thing up.
His original plan was obvious. Throw one symbolic punch, then let teammates drag him away. He would save face and avoid the harshest punishment.
But he misread one thing. His teammates did not pull him back right away.
The Lakers, led by Kobe, were still squared up with the Suns. Nobody even noticed Garnett circling back in.
Now Garnett had committed to the act. He could not just stand there looking awkward.
So he threw a second punch.
Stoudemire was not about to take that quietly. He answered immediately.
By the time players from both teams realized what was happening, the two of them were already locked up, grappling in the middle of the lane like two bodybuilders trying to dance the cha cha.
Garnett was a veteran actor. The second he realized all eyes were on them, he flopped backward to the floor.
Stoudemire, by contrast, was much more direct. He just stood there stiffly, staring down.
Chen Yan saw it and tugged lightly at Stoudemire from the side.
Stoudemire glanced at him and instantly understood.
Then he went down too.
The crowd froze for a beat.
Both of them were acting.
At this point, the one still standing would clearly be the one at a disadvantage.
Once both players were on the floor, the overall tension finally eased a bit.
Then came the team doctors, and then the referees went to the monitor.
As expected, both players were ejected.
The arena split into two sounds, one half cheering, the other half booing.
The cheers were for Stoudemire. The boos were for Garnett.
"Less than half a quarter into Game 2, and we have already got an incident," Barkley said. "That escalated from hard playoff basketball to a full on confrontation in a hurry."
Kenny Smith kept his tone steadier. "You never want to see it cross that line, but this series was already carrying a lot of tension. Both teams came in with real edge tonight, and that collision just lit the fuse."
Stoudemire left the floor with 4 points and 2 rebounds, ejected just as he was starting to find a rhythm.
He was clearly unhappy about it, but from Phoenix's perspective, it was not a complete loss.
He and Garnett were both core interior pieces for their teams.
Before leaving the court, Stoudemire had managed an extreme one for one exchange.
.....
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