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February 22, 2007 | Issue 4-13

MIAMI--Some said it was the most dominant slam dunk they have ever seen. Spectators at Wednesday night’s game between Miami and Houston were awed by the sheer authority displayed when Shaquille O’Neal knifed through the defense using six pivot feet to perform the most powerful dunk ever.

“What made the dunk so dynamic was his presence of mind,” said Miami Heat coach Pat Riley. “Shaq showed a lot of savvy in duping his defender with those six drop steps that set up the slam.”

“He’s such a smart student of the game,” commented TNT analyst Steve Kerr. “A lot of guys would not have studied the tapes to realize the defender could be broken down by a six step power move. Of course, nobody could have finished it the thunderous way O’Neal did.”

O’Neal made the much-praised move in the second quarter. Up to that point a non-factor in the game, the Miami center took two hard steps to the baseline side, reversed with two hop steps back toward the free throw line, and then muscled past Houston defender Yao Ming with a fundamental two-step drop straight to the rim.

“I knew [Yao Ming] would expect four pivot feet,” said O’Neal. “He had been playing me that way all night, so I thought a six step move would beat him.”

Fans were still buzzing after the game. “I have no idea who won,” said one excited Heat fan. “Just to be here for that dunk is all I can ask for.”

The Heat lost the game 114-87. O’Neal finished with a game-changing six points and three rebounds.

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