Inside the studio.
"Oh my God!"
"Blake Su hit the near game-winner, and Kobe answered with the real game-winner! That kind of reversal was completely unexpected. This game was incredible!"
Hubie Brown shouted, his voice trembling.
"Incredible. Truly incredible!"
Dave Pasch kept shaking his head and exclaimed, "Under the pressure of trailing 0-2 in the series, and after being down by a full 20 points at halftime.
"'Black Mamba' Kobe entered 'Mamba Mode,' used his 'Mamba Mentality' to turn the tide, and led the team to a comeback with a game-winner.
"That was just unbelievable."
"Yeah."
Hubie Brown's eyes were wide as he said in shock, "I thought Blake Su's magical, despair-inducing 2+1 had already been the near game-winner that killed the game.
"Who would have thought.
"Kobe would bare his 'Mamba Fangs' and hit a graceful fadeaway three to win it. This matchup was truly spectacular.
"Even though I would have preferred Blake Su and the Suns to win.
"Tonight, seeing Kobe's 'Mamba Mentality,' his refusal to give up and willingness to give everything, was still worthy of respect.
"That's also why Kobe has countless fans across Asia."
"Exactly."
The two commentators looked excited. They had truly been shaken by Kobe's second-half performance and the final counter game-winner.
At the same time.
On the court.
"What the...!"
"No way, right?"
George and Curry stared blankly at the scene, their eyes making it look almost unreal. They never imagined Kobe would hit the game-winner.
"Ko... Kobe is so strong!"
On the bench.
Goran Dragić, who had already been ready to cheer for the Suns, now looked dazed as he stared at Kobe's back while Kobe celebrated wildly.
An inexplicable fear rose in his heart.
As for Blake Su... after replaying Kobe's second-half performance in his mind and feeling the never-give-up will and spirit that belonged to the "Black Mamba."
His heart was shaken too.
"Heh."
Blake Su paused for a moment, then calmed down. After accepting the fact that they had lost, he looked at Kobe and smiled faintly.
"'Mamba Mentality,' huh? It really is something."
Blake Su hit a near game-winner, and Kobe answered with a game-winner.
In the end, Kobe, under the "Mamba Mentality," led his team to take one back at home, changing the series score from 0-2 to 1-2.
The Lakers... had escaped danger for now.
After the game.
Once Kobe calmed down from his excited roar, a reporter found him and smiled. "Kobe, first of all, congratulations on the win.
"Do you know?
"Tonight, you and Blake Su both scored 39 points. But... you only had 9 points in the first half, and your touch was ice-cold. In the second half, though.
"You exploded for 30 points, forcing the comeback with one unstoppable offensive and defensive play after another.
"I want to ask, when your shooting was that cold in the first half, how did you find your touch in the second half? And how did you still dare to keep attacking?"
"Uh..."
Kobe thought for a moment, shrugged, and smiled faintly. "When your shot is cold, maybe you're supposed to give up on offense and go defend, pass, or do something else. I don't know what other people think.
"But for me, I'd rather go 0-for-30 than 0-for-9. Going 0-for-9 means you were defeated by yourself.
"You've lost all confidence, and you can't keep playing."
After he finished.
The reporter froze for a moment, then felt his heart shake. Without realizing it, he raised a thumb toward Kobe, giving him sincere respect.
Visibly moved, the reporter said, "Maybe that is the true essence of the 'Mamba Mentality.' Kobe, you were tonight's Most Valuable Player."
"Heh."
Kobe smiled slightly and accepted it gladly.
...
This brutal, all-out battle between the Lakers and the Suns finally ended with Kobe's counter game-winner.
After the game.
That night, online discussion about this game kept raging.
However, while the fans were discussing it intensely, at Philips Arena, the Hawks' home court, the matchup between the Hawks and the Bulls.
Also tipped off as scheduled.
If the Lakers, playing at home, had fallen behind from the start and even ended up in a deadlock.
Then the Hawks, returning to their own arena, played the kind of offense they liked and opened with an 11-2 run.
A perfect start.
That made the Hawks fans at home extremely excited.
"Tonight looks promising."
After the first quarter.
The Hawks held a 5-point lead and controlled the game.
In the second quarter.
The Hawks pressed their advantage and continued widening the gap, pushing the lead to 11 points before entering halftime with a double-digit advantage.
In the second half.
After changing sides.
Just when Bulls fans thought the Bulls were about to launch their counterattack, the Hawks, refusing to let up after gaining the upper hand, pushed their home-court advantage to the limit.
After three quarters.
The lead was 17 points.
With continuous suppression and a big lead, the game had already become one-sided. It was close to a blowout.
"Yeah!"
"The Hawks have this won."
"Heh, so what if they kept suppressing us in the first two games? Once we're back on the Hawks' home court, everything is up to us.
"Victory?
"You're not taking it away."
"See? See? I told you, losing on the road doesn't count. Our Hawks can blow out the Bulls too.
"The series?
"Who said the Bulls are definitely going to win?"
"..."
Watching the situation and seeing victory firmly in their hands, the Hawks fans grew excited.
However.
In the final quarter, a game that should have entered garbage time early suddenly changed because the Bulls, led by Rose, unleashed a wild 15-0 counterattack.
In an instant.
The lead was only 2 points.
Buzz!
That sudden swing immediately threw the Hawks into panic and doubled their pressure.
"No way... they're not going to come back, are they?"
The Hawks were faintly worried.
"Go, Bulls! Come on, just ride this run and complete the comeback, just like the Lakers did against the Suns. Win the game and put yourselves one win from advancing!"
The Bulls fans, who had been frustrated for three quarters, were suddenly fired up.
But.
Just when everyone thought the Bulls would ride that momentum and complete the comeback in one burst, their offense fell apart in the final minutes, while the Hawks stabilized their own.
In the end.
The Hawks won by 3 points in a close but safe finish, narrowly defeating the Bulls. Like the Lakers, they defended their home court honor and took one game back.
They changed the series score to 1-2.
The Hawks had also escaped danger for now.
The next day.
After the Lakers and Hawks, both trailing 0-2, returned home and won their games, another wave of debate immediately erupted.
Or rather.
The idea that "road losses don't count" was brought back out again, and many fans still believed it was an absolutely correct theory.
They believed the Lakers and the Hawks could win.
Of course.
This kind of argument would never produce a real result.
It was just entertainment for fans after meals, a way to satisfy their urge to talk big. Or maybe... the work of keyboard warriors?
...
While the fans were talking big.
At the hotel near Staples Center.
Coach Alvin Gentry urgently gathered the players into one room.
...
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