So this season Phil Jackson had no choice but to rely heavily on Karl Malone and Theo Ratliff. During the regular season, because these two inside players were pushed too hard by the farmer's tactics, they were frequently plagued by minor injuries, resulting in low attendance rates. This is why the Lakers' regular-season record was only fourth in the West.
However, no matter how heavily they were relied upon, Karl Malone and Theo Ratliff couldn't play the full 48 minutes. There were always times when both were off the court.
Stoudemire seized this as an opportunity to dominate, engaging in a fierce exchange with Nash during the rotation time.
Since neither could stop the other, the score gap remained largely unchanged. After three minutes, with Stoudemire aggressively breaking through Horace Grant and directly delivering a ferocious dunk over Medvedenko, the Warriors took a 4-point lead again.
The game paused, marking the end of the short performance by Nash and Stoudemire.
