Playoffs 2000:Frozen moment: Shaq's super block

Frozen moment: Shaq's super block
By Kevin Jackson
ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES -- Reggie Miller took a hard lunge to his left, got a step on the Lakers' Brian Shaw and found a wide-open path on the baseline.


	Sure, Shaq put up the numbers offensively, but he also blocked three shots, including this one by Sam Perkins.

For one of the few times on perhaps the most frustrating night of his career, Miller appeared to be in position for an easy driving hoop -- the type of basket that can get a scorer going.

The Pacers' sharp-shooter elevated and launched a high-arching rainbow that appeared on target to cut the Lakers' lead to 73-71 with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.

That's when Shaq happened.

Shaquille O'Neal, the guy with the Superman tattoo on his left biceps, came flying in and saved the day in true superhero fashion.

Elevating to what seemed a couple feet above the rim, O'Neal caught Miller's shot just at the top of its arch and swatted it back the other direction.

"He was trying to get to the hole, and I just timed it up. I came over from the other side and blocked it," O'Neal said matter of factly. "And I did it without fouling him."

After Shaq's swat, Miller immediately whipped around in disgust, searching for an official's whistle and crying out for a goaltending call.

But Reggie would find no refuge from the refs, and the Pacers' comeback was finished right then and there as the Lakers roared to a 104-87 victory in the series opener.

"To tell you the truth, I thought I got it up over him," said Miller, who was still crying foul in the postgame interview session. "But he was zoning back in the lane all night, and you've got to get in there and throw it up over him."

Zone defense or not, Shaq's big block served as a microcosm of the evening for the two biggest stars in this series.

O'Neal finished with 43 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and three blocks, including the swat that turned the game back decisively in the Lakers' favor after the Pacers had cut deeply into the Lakers' 55-43 halftime edge. The only thing missing from his performance was a cape.

Miller, one of the league's best big-game performers, was simply awful in his first Finals game. The Southern California native missed 15 of his 16 shots from the field and finished with a mere seven points in an extremely disappointing homecoming.

After O'Neal redirected Miller's shot, Kobe Bryant scooped up the loose ball and drove for a jumper in transition that gave L.A. a 75-69 lead. The Lakers held a six-point lead entering the fourth quarter and then put the game away with a 19-8 run.

As Pacers coach Larry Bird lamented, "We got it down to four or two, and then Shaquille just took over the game. ... He was a one-man show tonight."