Screenshots:
Horace... down... oww... Toni's a bully
Penny being black
Boy, do I look ridiculous
Half-time score
Penny being black II (stealing)... is that not cool?
Shaq being versatile
Shaq... put ball... in basket...
Final score
Recap:
1st Half...
Both teams came out shooting away right from the get go as Shaquille O'Neal started the game with a thunderous dunk. The 1st quarter can best be described as trading baskets between Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal as MJ finished with 13 pts for the quarter while Shaq put up 10. The game was close all of the 1st quarter but the Magic came out on top as they got a nice surprise from the bench from Brooks Thompson who drained two threes in a row to give the Magic a 28-27 lead. Penny Hardaway did not contribute much as he went out with a early foul trouble scoring two points on 1/4 shooting. 2nd quarter began with Shaq on the bench and Penny doing most of the damage for the Magic. Penny overcame his poor performance from the initial quarter and came out attacking the basket, scoring 5 from the free throw line. MJ continued being MJ and scored 8 more points for the quarter. The game really opened up when Shaq came back in the game and shifted the focus of the Bulls' defense and Anderson and Scott of the Magic both scored beyond the arc giving the Magic a 45-39 lead. The half ended with a score of 60-51 Magic lead.
2nd Half...
As expected, the Bulls came out firing as Steve Kerr, who started the second half, hit a three right over Hardaway. Surprisingly, most of the success from the Bulls in the 3rd quarter came from players not named Michael. Toni Kukoc scored 8 off the bench while Scottie Pippen flushed 3 jumpers. The Bulls defense tightened up as the Magic found it hard to get a shot off. They still managed to hold on to the lead as Shaq continued to dominate inside. With a Kukoc jumper, the Bulls cut the lead to 3, ending the quarter on a 9-2 run. The quarter ended with a score of 78-75 with the Magic on top. After the first few minutes of the 4th quarter it seemed like the Magic had the game in the bag. Shaq scored, dished out for the 3, all the while Penny stripped 3 balls off the Bulls' guards and converted them to points. The Magic was up 99-90 with a minute to go when the unlikely happened. The Bulls started fouling and Penny missed his free throws while Scottie Pippen and Jordan sank three desperate 3 pointers to tie the game at 99. They fouled Penny again and he hit the first free throw making the game 100-99. He missed the second and everyone held their breath as the ball went up. Shaq kept his poise and skied high for the rebound and dunked it back home while drawing a foul. He even made the ensuing free throw! The Bulls could not recover and the game ended at 104-99.
The player of the game honor went to Shaquille O'Neal who scored 32 points on a 14/24 shooting while grabbing 12 boards, blocking 3 shots, and dishing out 4 assists.
Key players:
Magic
Shaquille O'Neal: 32 pts (14/24), 12 rebs, 4 assists, 3 blocks
Penny Hardaway: 28 pts (11/22), 2 rebs, 3 assists, 6 steals (!)
Dennis Scott: 12 pts, 4 assists
Horace Grant: 9 pts, 5 rebs
Bulls
Michael Jordan: 30 pts (12/21), 4 rebs, 1 assists, 2 steals
Scottie Pippen: 21 pts (2/2 from the 3), 3 rebs, 2 assists
Luc Longley: 11 pts, 13 rebs, 2 assists, 5 blocks (!)
Kerr and Kukoc scored 11 and 8 off the bench respectively.
J/K good win!
I can't believe this. Oh well, Shaq and Penny certainly did their jobs.
