160: 085: Public Enemy of the East (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_2 160: 085: Public Enemy of the East (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_2 “Yasmeen Ghauri, I know you, it’s an honor to meet you,” the woman gracefully shook hands with Roger and Shaq.
“That’s an unusual name,” Shaq began to delve deeper into knowing his counterpart.
“Yes, I’m of South Asian descent, my father is from Pakistan.”
“Minority models don’t seem to be very common in this industry,” O’Neal pretended to know a lot about the subject.
“Yes, I’m not white enough but not black enough either.
So, you probably haven’t seen me at larger mainstream fashion events,” Yasmeen Ghauri shook her head, reminiscing about her career that had been filled with rejections.
In the modeling world of the ’90s, it was dominated by white girls, interspersed with a few pure black models.
Her wheatish complexion inevitably made her stick out.
“Then they’re blind,” Roger, who had been silent, finally spoke, “I’ve always regretted the stereotypical aesthetic in the fashion world.
Fashion has no borders, it doesn’t see color.
They’re blind, unable to see this diverse beauty.
I understand that feeling, Yasmeen, I really do, because my skin color also makes me an outlier in the NBA.
But that won’t be a barrier for me, and I believe the same for you, you’ll make it.”
O’Neal swore to God it was the first time he had discovered that Roger was as good at complimenting people as he was at cursing them.
Yasmeen looked at Roger, unable to resist smiling: “Thank you.”
“By the way, we happen to have a few tickets for the game tomorrow night.
If you’re interested, come watch the game,” O’Neal decided to strengthen his approach.
“Sure,” Yasmeen nodded graciously, “Leave me your phone number, it’ll make it easier to get in touch tomorrow.”
After speaking, Yasmeen went to the makeup table, picked up an eyebrow pencil, wrote down her phone number, and walked over to Roger and Shaq.
Then she handed the slip of paper to Roger.
“See you tomorrow, Yasmeen,” Roger extended his hand.
“See you tomorrow.” Yasmeen gently grasped Roger’s fingertips, the flirtation in her eyes impossible to hide.
As they left the fashion show, O’Neal said helplessly, “She’s just shy, she’s too embarrassed to give me her number directly.
But the fact is, she likes me a bit more.
Tomorrow night, she will reveal her true intentions.
Scary woman, she’s trying to approach me through my friend.”
“That’s right, Shaq, you’re so right, she probably just wants to get close to you by going through me, that’s why she gave me her number and not you,” Roger waved the slip of paper with the phone number, showing off on purpose.
Alright, I admit it, you won!
Bastard, I thought you could only talk trash, but it turns out you can also sweet-talk.
‘My skin color also makes me an outlier in the NBA,’ go to hell, Roger, go to hell.
It doesn’t matter, anyway, I don’t like that type.
She’s too tall for me, I like my women a bit more petite!”
Shaq wasn’t lying, looking over his dating history you’d find that most of the girlfriends he’d gone public with were under 170 cm.
The next afternoon, the whole team headed to Madison Square Garden.
Roger’s chants of “Fuck Roger” were relentless, and in the midst of these warm calls, he didn’t forget to wave to the New York fans: “Did you know, Shaq, this is like a second home court for me.”
That night’s game, the New Yorkers continued to show their toughness.
In the two previous encounters, the Knicks had a record of 1 win and 1 loss against the Magic, slightly better than the Bulls, so Riley was quite confident about this match.
The Knicks’ performance today was also very good.
Ewing’s bunny hop jump shots felt great, embarrassing O’Neal at times.
Derek Harper also showed off his talent in front of Ron Harper, and many mistook them for brothers, not just because they shared a last name but their physiques and playing style were also very similar.
Tonight, Derek Harper used one brutal attack after another to tell the world that he and Ron Harper had only one pure relationship—enemies.
The scale of the game was huge today; O’Neal was somewhat embarrassed by the Knicks’ aggressive double teams, complaining all night about not getting the calls.
As if getting the calls would mean he could make the free throws.
Horace Grant’s mid-range shot wasn’t effective today; the fierce muscle confrontation drained too much of his touch.
Plus, Charles Smith was always able to quickly move from the paint to mid-range to cover, his defensive switching ability was not on the same level as Kukoc’s or Webber’s.
The game was very tense at one point, with 33 seconds left, an up-and-under hook shot by the “Gorilla” helped the Knicks tie the score.
By then, Ewing had racked up 38 points and 13 rebounds, and the Magic Team had no timeouts left, unable to set up a play.
After scoring, Ewing glared at O’Neal: “You’ve never won a playoff series, you miserable bastard!
If it weren’t for Roger, you’d still be licking the Admiral’s toes!
Without Roger, you can’t beat me!”
Ewing deliberately provoked Shaq, aiming to force O’Neal to take the last shot.
Roger had scored 27 points today; his shooting wasn’t sharp in the first half, but he got it back in the second, wreaking havoc on the Knicks’ perimeter defense.
So, if the ball went to Roger in the final moments, it posed a significant threat to the Knicks.
Moreover, the Knicks had developed PTSD from Roger, and they truly feared him receiving the ball at the crucial moment.
Roger’s buzzer-beater and 18 points in 8 seconds in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals were too hurtful.
Ewing’s strategy worked; O’Neal indeed actively sought the ball on the following possession and backed down the “Gorilla.”
The “Gorilla” was confident he could hold off O’Neal, who had scored 27 points that day but with only a 43% shooting percentage.
By center standards, that was not good.