Shaquille O'Neal - Valiant Effort vs. Billups and the Pistons (2004 Finals Game 4, 36 points)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200406130DET.html

Shaq had 36 points and 20 rebounds as he kept the Lakers from being run out of the building. In fact, the Lakers ended up losing because Shaq got very few touches in the 4th quarter. Shaquille had to do it all in this one because Malone was hurt, Payton struggled, and Kobe couldn't hit a rock in an ocean on that night. The loss dropped the Lakers into an insurmountable 3-1 deficit. If his teammates came through, the series would have been tied, there would have been a game 6 in LA, and maybe Karl Malone would be a champion.

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[clutchcity25]

Kobe had alot of pressure on him due to the court thing and just took it the wrong way. That being said, he's still the reason Karl Malone never got his ring.

[KTD82291]

How in the FUCK does your team lose, when your big man scores 36 points and 20 rebounds?

I definitely blame Kobe for this series. He wanted to be the man of LA, which is the reason for the trade. Though how is Kobe going to be the man when he couldn't facilitate to save his life? It's not just one game either, but he sucked in all five games. In this five game series, Kobe shot BELOW 40 percent in four of the games. Shaq, however; was efficient and dominant throughout all of the series.

[inolover5]

SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE­EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED.

[TheFreeMentality]

@AxonMoses True, but you can't say it's only his fault the Lakers lost. If Kobe played fantastic, the Lakers would've still lost. The Pistons were the better team, The Lakers were injured, old and weak especially on the bench. I wish people would start giving that '04 Pistons team their due, they were flat out better than the Lakers period.

[AxonMoses]

@TheFreeMentality

Kobe wasted MANY TEAM POSSESSIONS with horrible shooting, he should have handed off to Shaq more.

[TheFreeMentality]

Hey fuckkos, stop blaming one player for a TEAM loss. The reason the Lakers lost is because the Pistons were the better team period. And before you start saying the Lakers had Payton and Malone keep in mind Malone was injured with a bad knee he reinjured in Gm2 and Payton was a lost man in the triangle offense all season. Also, the Lakers had NO BENCH, they had to rely on a rookie Luke Walton, rookie Kareem Rush, Slava Medmendiko, and sore knee Derek Fisher. Does that sound good to you? Hell no.

[TheTdbj]

kobe and shaq could have had another ring kobe was being a dick at the time and let his feeling get in the way of a championship (not saying the pistons wouldnt have won, but i definitely think it could have went the full 7)

[jmaal2345]

i lol at people that say the lakers lost cuz of shaq lol gtfoh kobe is the reason. shaq was ballin