"Shaq, if it were you, how would you handle this kind of officiating?" But now that Barkley had this chance for revenge, he naturally wasn’t going to let it slide.
"This is just part of the game, you know. Back in the day, the League targeted me with defensive three-seconds and allowed zone defenses—these things only happen if you’re strong enough. You have to beat them to prove your strength." O’Neal was still sharp.
"Shaq, not everyone can win under this kind of officiating." But Barkley hadn’t planned to let him off that easily.
"Other than what I’ve said, there’s no other way; you can’t actually flip the table, that would only make you lose faster."
As O’Neal finished speaking, the players from both teams had gradually returned to the court.
Both sides made no changes to their lineups, and as the game resumed, the whistles were still biased towards the Heat Team.
Just as Little Gasol picked up his fourth personal foul, the Grizzlies substituted him with Faried.
Everything looked normal. Orıginal content can be found at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱
But then something unexpected happened on the court; Randolph seemed a bit upset, and Joerger substituted him with James Johnson.
Then Conley also seemed to have some discomfort, and the Grizzlies replaced him with Bibby.
A few minutes into the second half, the Grizzlies’ lineup had changed significantly.
Bibby, Hansen, Guy, James Johnson, Faried.
From the original starting five, only Hansen and Guy were still on the court.
Were they playing passively?
The commentators were a bit stunned.
In fact, not just the commentators, Spoelstra and the players from the Heat were also confused.
James, however, seemed excited upon seeing this, as he saw it as the Grizzlies throwing the game in protest.
This meant the Heat Team was secure tonight!
After the substitutions, he took the ball and set a screen with Bosh, then charged straight in.
With Little Gasol and Randolph not on the floor, it was too good an opportunity to miss.
But just as he charged in and had not yet gotten up, Faried fiercely pulled him down.
The movement was big; it almost dislocated James’ arm, and James turned around ready to fight, only to forcefully hold back when he saw James Johnson next to him.
The referee was timely, giving Faried a flagrant foul.
But Faried was very calm.
Even the Grizzlies didn’t substitute him out.
Boos filled the arena instantly.
Yet they quickly realized that this was just the beginning.
On the offensive end, the Grizzlies relied on Hansen and Guy to secure the baseline, while the others went all-out on defense, and the defensive moves were very aggressive.
After Bibby brutally knocked Wade’s layup out of bounds, the two teams finally erupted into conflict.
Chalmers, furious, pushed Bibby, who then tackled him to the ground.
Wade and Haslem both rushed in, as did Johnson and Faried; the teams scuffled together.
The referee’s frantic whistles made the court seem like a New Delhi market, but the scene was simply uncontrollable.
James reacted quickly, vengefully pushing Faried down then swiftly retreating.
But Faried couldn’t tolerate it, and after getting up, he swung his fists like a raging bull, wanting to charge through the crowd to get him.
James was so frightened he retreated all the way to the back of the backcourt.
Referees, security staff, personnel all came onto the court, along with jeering fans; the scene was complete chaos.
This unprecedented scene finally made the commentators realize something.
Especially O’Neal, because the Grizzlies had really done like he said: they flipped the table!