On May 6th, the Trail Blazers faced the Sacramento Kings—and crushed them without suspense.
But before the game tipped off, Larry Bird made a rare and bold adjustment. He changed the starting lineup that had remained consistent all season. More specifically, he shifted Zhao Dong from point guard to power forward to match up defensively against Chris Webber.
Eddie Jones was promoted to starting point guard, but in reality, Zhao Dong's offensive role remained unchanged. He continued to operate as the Blazers' true floor general—just in a different package. A point forward, commanding the floor like Webber—but better.
Defensively, Zhao Dong had no weaknesses in the matchup. Height? Comparable. Wingspan? Longer. Vertical? Higher. And when it came to strength, weight, and speed? Zhao Dong had the clear edge.
Under his relentless defense, Webber was held far below his averages. Once Webber was neutralized, the Kings' Princeton offense collapsed like a house of cards. The Kings were routed, 71–115. A 44-point beatdown—brutal, thorough, and indisputable.
Later that night, the young Bulls defeated the Heat, turning their series into a grinder.
---
May 7th — Game 2: Nets vs. 76ers
The second game between the Nets and the Philly 76ers saw New Jersey maintain their dominant low-post offense. By halftime, they led by 10 points.
But just four minutes into the second half, chaos erupted.
As Yao Ming was going up for a jumper, Karl Malone—the Mailman—viciously elbowed him in the face. Blood streamed from Yao's split right eyebrow, and he was forced to exit the court immediately.
Malone was assessed a defensive foul, but the damage was done. With Yao off the floor, the 76ers pounced on the opportunity.
Tim Duncan, while elite, didn't have the same floor-spacing threat as Yao. With both Malone and Theo Ratliff clogging the paint, Marbury couldn't find space to drive. The 76ers began double-teaming Duncan aggressively. His efficiency dipped, the Nets' offense stalled, and by the end of the third quarter, the 76ers had taken a one-point lead.
Then, through the tunnel, Yao Ming reemerged—stitches in his brow, a bandage across his face, and fire in his eyes.
On the first possession, Yao pulled out to the left wing—three meters from the paint. He dragged Malone with him. Duncan posted up on the opposite block. With the paint cleared out, Marbury attacked.
Ratliff rotated to help, leaving Duncan wide open. Marbury kicked the ball out—Duncan faced a switch from Iverson and hit an uncontested bucket.
That single possession reset the rhythm. Yao's floor-spacing re-opened the offense. The Nets surged again.
But six minutes into the fourth, with the Nets up by six, Malone snapped.
He threw another elbow—directly at Yao's stitched eyebrow. The impact was immediate. The wound reopened, and Yao collapsed to the hardwood.
Watching at home, Zhao Dong clenched his fists. His blood boiled. He wanted to dive into the screen and knock Karl Malone out cold.
The referees finally gave Malone a flagrant foul, but shockingly, it was only Grade 1. No ejection.
Yao, however, was done for the night. A deeper cut and risk of concussion sent him straight to the hospital.
Without their centerpiece, the Nets lost control. The 76ers clawed their way back and tied the series 1–1.
---
That Night – Zhao Dong's Apartment, Portland
Just as the game ended, Zhao Dong's phone rang. It was a reporter from Portland Sports.
"Zhao Dong, what do you think about Karl Malone elbowing Yao twice?"
Zhao Dong's voice was ice-cold.
"I won't comment on his behavior. I just have one question for him: if he does make the Finals… how the hell is he going to get past me?"
Click. End of call.
He tried calling Yao, but the line didn't go through. He kept trying until he gave up and went to sleep.
---
Next Morning — May 8th
At 9 a.m., Zhao Dong finally reached Yao.
"Yao, what's the situation?"
Yao's voice was calm but firm.
"It's fine, Brother Dong. Just reopened the cut. Got more stitches. I won't miss Game 3."
Zhao Dong encouraged him with a steel tone.
"Next time you face him, be tougher. Show him you're not someone to mess with."
"Understood, Brother Dong."
Yao had no fear. He'd never backed down from a fight—and he wasn't about to start now.
Later that afternoon, Zhao Dong gave a doorstep interview.
The reporter filled him in on Malone's latest trash talk.
"Karl Malone said: 'Do the Trail Blazers even have a chance to reach the Finals?' What's your response?"
Zhao Dong scoffed. Inwardly, he thought: If both the Blazers and the Nets lose... I'm gonna explode.
Out loud, he answered coolly:
"Apologies to the Lakers, but I'll do whatever it takes to make the Finals."
That night, the Blazers won Game 2 against the Kings, going up 2–0. The Heat also tied their series with the Bulls. Over in the West, the Lakers went up 2–0 against the Mavericks.
---
May 9th — Game 3: 76ers Home Court
In the second round, the 2–2–1 format was in effect. The Nets had to survive two games on the road.
The moment tip-off hit, Karl Malone set his eyes on Yao Ming again.
But this time… Yao was ready.
Still bandaged, still bruised, but standing tall, Yao looked the Postman dead in the eyes.
The Nets got the first possession. Yao caught the ball in the low post, left side. Malone leaned in, nudging him, muttering trash talk. Just as Yao began to pivot, he remembered Zhao Dong's words.
His eyes narrowed.
He spun left—WHAM!—his elbow smashed into Malone's face.
The Mailman dropped like a sack of bricks—blood dripping from his broken nose.
Zhao Dong, watching at home, burst into laughter.
"HA! That's it, Yao!"
Yao was called for an offensive foul, but because the motion was clean and fluid, it wasn't ruled intentional.
Malone was helped off with a towel to his nose. The crowd held its breath.
With only Iverson left to carry the load, the 76ers crumbled. The Nets took full control—offense, defense, tempo. It was a complete takeover.
To his credit, the Mailman returned to the court—taped up, blood cleaned, jaw clenched. But the Nets weren't backing down. Neither Yao nor Duncan gave him an inch.
Unless Malone could elbow both of them off the court, there was no way to flip the momentum.
Pushed to the brink, Malone knew his window was closing. Already in the twilight of his career, this was likely his last shot at a title. And so, with desperation setting in, he prepared to strike again...
But fate had other plans.
He misjudged his next elbow—and paid the price.
Yao Ming sensed it—the danger, the intent.
Under the basket during a routine attack, he had just shaken off Karl Malone and was rising for a layup when an instinct kicked in. He abruptly lowered his body.
It wasn't fear. It was survival.
Malone's elbow swung through the air like a guillotine.
If Yao hadn't faked that move and had gone straight up for the shot, that elbow would've slammed straight into his temple—an outcome that could've mirrored what happened to "Smiling Assassin" Isiah Thomas years ago.
But this time, the elbow missed.
As Malone lost his balance and began to fall forward, Yao Ming straightened back up, cradling the ball in both hands. In that instant, his left elbow rose—instinctively, unplanned—and collided directly with Malone's face.
"Ahh! My eyes!"
Malone's scream pierced through the arena as he collapsed to the hardwood, clutching the left side of his face. Blood leaked between his fingers as he writhed in pain.
Yao's layup attempt bounced out.
The game stopped immediately.
The referee waved to the 76ers' bench, signaling for the team doctor. Coaches and medical staff sprinted onto the court.
What they saw stunned them.
Malone's upper left eyelid was torn upward, and his left eyeball showed signs of severe trauma—likely a ruptured lens and massive hemorrhaging from direct impact. Yao's elbow had struck cleanly.
Malone was carried off on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital.
The arena buzzed with tension. The slow-motion replay showed everything—the wild elbow from Malone, the fake from Yao, the accidental collision. No flagrant foul was called on Yao. In fact, had Malone not been injured, he likely would've been whistled for a flagrant himself.
Without Malone, the 76ers had no answer for the rampaging Nets.
The result was inevitable.
The Nets took Game 3, seizing a 2–1 lead in the series.
"The Mailman is done! The Email Combo is done! The 76ers are done!" shouted commentator Hubie Brown with a dramatic sigh.
Back in the locker room, Yao Ming sat quietly and called Zhao Dong.
"Brother Dong… I didn't mean to," he said, his voice full of unease.
"So what if you did?" Zhao Dong replied coolly. "That elbow Malone threw at you was clearly meant to take you out. Don't carry the guilt. Just keep your head in the game. We'll see each other in the Finals."
Yao let out a breath. "I understand, Brother Dong."
Hubie Brown's words soon proved prophetic.
The next morning, the 76ers officially announced that Karl Malone had suffered blunt trauma to his left eyeball and a ruptured lens. He would miss the remainder of the playoffs.
At the same time, Zhao Dong addressed reporters who had camped outside his apartment in Los Angeles.
He didn't dodge.
"It was clear to everyone watching that Malone wanted to elbow Yao while he was in the air," Zhao said. "If he succeeded, the 76ers would've had a real shot at winning this series. But God was watching. Yao's fake saved him."
He looked straight into the cameras.
"My advice to every player in the league: don't go on the court looking to hurt someone. If Malone had just played clean defense instead of trying to take Yao out, maybe he wouldn't have ended up in the hospital."
Zhao's words sparked a wave of reactions.
Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, and David Robinson all gave statements supporting Yao Ming. Public sentiment turned sharply.
Instead of sympathy, Malone received criticism.
Yao? Untouched by controversy.
Without Malone, the 76ers collapsed. Allen Iverson tried to carry the team on his shoulders, but it was too much. The Nets steamrolled them.
On May 11th, the Lakers completed a clean sweep and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
The Nets, leading 3–1, were on the brink of eliminating the 76ers as well.
On May 12th, the Trail Blazers mirrored the Lakers' dominance, sweeping their series and setting up a showdown in the West.
Meanwhile, in the East, the Bulls and Heat were deadlocked at 2–2.
On the 13th, the Nets officially eliminated the 76ers, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 4–1 series win.
On the 14th, the Bulls took Game 5, earning match point.
But the young Bulls were far from perfect. Chemistry issues between Rasheed Wallace and Tracy McGrady boiled under the surface. On May 16th, they faltered in Game 6, losing to the Heat and forcing a decisive Game 7.
Still, talent won out.
The Bulls took Game 7, advancing to face the Nets.
And so, the stage was set.
Eastern Conference Finals: Bulls vs. Nets.
Western Conference Finals: Trail Blazers vs. Lakers.
Home-court advantage belonged to the former in both matchups.
The Western Conference Finals would begin on the 19th. The East would start on the 22nd.
In New York, Magic Johnson spoke to the press.
"I think the Eastern Conference Finals are already decided," he said bluntly. "The Nets are just too strong. Honestly, that Nets-76ers series felt like the real Eastern Finals. The Bulls might get swept. As for the West, I've got the Lakers winning. No one can match their interior game."
Zhao Dong couldn't be bothered.
He scoffed while watching the interview.
"Didn't this guy pick the Lakers last year, too?" he muttered.
Back in Chicago, Rasheed Wallace was fuming.
"That guy's mouth is full of shit," he told reporters. "He's been wrong before and he'll be wrong again. We're not some Cinderella story—we're the real deal, and we're gonna shock the world."
McGrady echoed that sentiment.
"We're not going down like that," he said to the Chicago Sports Daily. "They think the Nets are invincible? We'll see about that."
Then, on May 17th, the NBA announced the regular-season MVP.
No surprise.
Zhao Dong secured his fourth consecutive MVP title, making league history.
Jordan congratulated him in an interview: "Four in a row. Incredible. But I'll tell you this—if his team stays healthy and they keep playing like this, he might keep winning them. And honestly, who else deserves it more?"
Even NBA commissioner David Stern admitted it was a no-brainer.
"Look, it's not about favorites," he said. "Zhao Dong averaged a 40-point triple-double and led his team to the league's best record. If we gave it to anyone else, fans would riot."
On the 18th, the Lakers arrived in Portland and held a press conference at their hotel.
"We're taking this battle to the paint," said the Lakers' Big Three. "Low post, under the basket—we're going to win this where it matters."
Zhao Dong watched the coverage and raised an eyebrow.
Weren't the Lakers supposed to be dealing with internal drama?
Now Kobe Bryant was cracking jokes with his teammates at the podium?
Unbelievable.
What Zhao didn't know was this—he and Lindsay's attendance at Kobe's wedding months ago had helped mend the rift between Kobe and his parents. That reconciliation had sparked a change in Kobe's attitude, and it quietly stabilized the entire Lakers locker room.
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