Veterans vs. Young studs: Rockets battle Lakers in 1998

The NBA received a treat on February 15, 1998. A battle of legends, both current and future, gathered in Los Angeles, and what occurred was worthy of a Hollywood movie.

Older stars Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Clyde Drexler tried their best to knock off the current superstar, Shaquille O’Neal, and the star in the making, Kobe Bryant. Would they be successful?

Shaq and Kobe were leading the Lakers through a dominant season, with the squad from Tinseltown sitting pretty with a 35-13 record. The Rockets, on the other hand, were looking to make a statement. Houston had a losing record at 24-25 as they entered the game against the Lakers.

The Rockets’ Big 3 of superstars were starting to look old, as their primes had clearly passed at this point. Still, these were Hall of Fame players and they wouldn’t bow down to anyone. And remember, Olajuwon famously outplayed a young Shaq in the 1995 NBA Finals. There certainly was history between the two star centers.

Right at the start of the game, Shaq proved he was ready for the battle after he grabbed an offensive rebound, spun, and dunked the ball in Kevin Willis’ face.

Willis responded by hitting a 14-foot jumper. In fact, it was all Kevin Willis for the Rockets to start the game, as he made the first three baskets for Houston.

The Lakers’ game plan was to feed the ball to Shaq in the post, but Olajuwon was ready and he wasn’t alone. The Rockets swarmed Shaq every time he touched the ball, affecting his rhythm. Shaq was fouled, and on another possession, Shaq had the ball stolen from him by Eddie Johnson.

Later, Shaq found himself surrounded in the paint again, forcing The Big Diesel into a tough shot that missed. Fortunately for LA, Robert Horry was there for the putback bucket.

Shaq’s struggles continued on the Lakers’ next possession when he traveled after being surrounded by a sea of Rockets. Shaq needed help; he couldn’t beat the Rockets on his own.

After a beautiful baseline jumper by Olajuwon gave Houston an early 17-10 lead, the Lakers got help in the form of Kobe Bryant. At this point in his career, Kobe came off the bench. He was young and hungry to prove he deserved a starting role on the team.

Kobe didn’t score in the first quarter, but his presence on the court helped give Shaq a little more room in the paint. And Shaq took full advantage of it. Shaq slammed home the ball after a nice pass from Horry, and followed that up by grabbing his miss after an Olajuwon block, finishing with a layup, plus gaining the foul on The Dream.

The Lakers weren’t the only ones to have a secret weapon come off the bench. Charles Barkley’s days as MVP were over, but he was what the Rockets needed to lead their second unit. Barkley played just three minutes in the opening quarter but connected on two shots, a layup, and a fallaway jumper.

After one quarter of play, the Rockets led 24-20. The second quarter turned into a duel of the bench stars. Kobe started it off by showing his impressive dribbling skills, crossing over Drexler, and finishing a floater after sneaking past Willis.

Kobe followed that up by showcasing his smooth jumper, something Lakers fans would see for many years to come, especially during big moments of games.

Barkley continued his hot streak from the first quarter, first taking a hard foul from Rick Fox under the basket and making two free throws. Showcasing his toughness even at the age of 34, and being just five days away from turning 35, as a matter of fact.

But Barkley’s game didn’t always revolve around being under the hoop. With about seven minutes to go in the quarter, Barkley found himself being guarded by his future Inside the NBA coworker, Shaq, out beyond the three-point line. Barkley sized Shaq up before swishing a three in The Big Diesel’s face.

Later, Barkley beat the shot clock by nailing a rainbow jumper over the outstretched hands of Elden Campbell. Barkley was on a tear, and after making another free throw, he had scored 14 of the Rockets’ last 18 points… but he wasn’t done yet. After LA surrounded Olajuwon under the basket, Barkley made a hard cut to the hoop, finishing with a layup. The Rockets now led 40-36 over the Lakers.

The Lakers tried to continue with their original game plan: feeding Shaq in the post, but the Rockets’ defense continued to be successful on the future 4-time NBA champion. So, it was up to Kobe again to keep LA in the game, and he did just that by connecting on a three-pointer. Kobe would hit a second three just as the rest of his teammates struggled to score.

Despite Barkley’s 12 points in the quarter, the Lakers only trailed by one at the half, 46-45, thanks to Kobe’s 10-point quarter.

In the third quarter, we saw a surprising battle between two players: the Lakers’ Rick Fox and the Rockets’ Matt Bullard. This was certainly an interesting quarter of play. Fox started things off for the Lakers, scoring the team’s first nine points in the quarter, including nailing a big three-pointer.

As for Bullard, the forgotten role player came into the game and hit a pair of threes and a 15-foot jumper. Of course, the stars did have their moments in the quarter. From Olajuwon hitting a few jumpers and finishing a nice finger roll to Shaq converting a beautiful reverse layup.

Even Kobe got in on the fun. He slammed home a reverse one-handed dunk. Still, after three quarters, the Rockets held on to a 70-65 lead.

The fourth quarter belonged to Barkley. He opened the quarter taking Campbell down in the post and finishing a strong layup. Barkley next took Campbell back in the post, just to step back and drill a jumper in Campbell’s face.

Shaq attempted to stop Barkley’s onslaught by converting a baby hook over Olajuwon. But remember one thing: Olajuwon famously outplayed a young Shaq in the 1995 NBA Finals, and he may be the only player who can say he outplayed The Big Diesel.

Olajuwon wasn’t going to back down in this game. The Dream took Shaq down in the post on the next possession, hit Shaq with his famous “Dream Shake” and made a fallaway jumper while being fouled by Shaq.

And one.

Shaq’s little brother would have his back, however. Years later, Kobe would work out with Olajuwon and work on the Dream Shake to add to the Black Mamba’s offensive repertoire. At this point in time, Kobe did his best version of it, drilling the fadeaway over Drexler.

Kobe got the crowd on their feet on his next made bucket, an alley-oop finish to tie the game at 80-80. With about three minutes to go in the game, the Rockets held on to an 84-82 lead, but this was when Barkley continued his attack. The Round Mound of Rebound attacked Campbell once more in the paint and the results were the same: Made bucket.

Kobe answered with a layup, but after two free throws from Drexler, the Rockets held an 88-84 lead with one minute remaining. Shaq tried his best to give LA the lead.

He grabbed an Eddie Jones shot that was blocked by Olajuwon and slammed it home. Shaq followed that up with another dunk and the game was tied at 88-88 with just 25 seconds remaining.

Veterans outpace young stars

As mentioned earlier, the fourth quarter belonged to Barkley and indeed it did. Barkley drilled a jumper over Campbell with three seconds remaining, silencing the Los Angeles crowd and giving himself a game-high 26 points.

The Lakers had one more chance to win the game, but Nick Van Exel missed a long-leaning jumper and Kobe’s last-second tip also missed.