The Date: January 12, 2002.
The Venue: United Center, Chicago.
The Result: 3 game suspension for the big guy
The Rematch:  Nil... until now!

There it sits, fresh in our minds.  The hard foul by then-Bull Brad Miller and Charles Oakley, Shaq flips, then the roundhouse punch at a walking away Brad Miller, the momentum of the swing almost ripping the roof off the United Center.  Lets not talk about the accuracy.

O'Neal was fined $15,000 and suspended for three games for the incident, but he vowed revenge next time the teams met and called Miller 'a bum'.  That date was on February 6 in Los Angeles, a game the Bulls again won to sweep the series against the reigning champs, and Shaq sat out with injured big toe.  After this it looked like the quarrel was dead, for this season at least, that was until Miller was traded with others to the Indiana Pacers for Jalen Rose and others.

As Mark Montieth of the Indianapolis Star reports, now Shaquille will get his rematch in L.A. once more.  Miller talked up the situation last time the teams met, calling Shaq a chicken for talking about not playing.  This time he will.

"It's going to be a fun game," said Miller.

Shaq seems to have somewhat backpedalled on his previous words of revenge, which admittingly did come after the game when the heat was still on, talking as though the rematch will be just another day at the office.

"I don't live in the past," O'Neal said. "I don't like dirty play. [But] it doesn't really matter to me. I just want to get back on track."

Miller, however, has his own plans for the big guy.

"If you can make him play defense, his offense isn't going to be as good," Miller said. "The guy's a human tank on two legs. Tanks are difficult to go through, but easy to go around. So you have to be smart about it."

But is Hack-a-Shaq really a smart way to go about it, especially with no Charles Oakley behind you for backup?  Miller praised Oakley's help when Shaq went him in Chicago, Oakley fined $10,000 and suspended two games as a result.

"I won't tolerate dirtiness," said O'Neal. "I'm a legend, and he's an OK high school player. Tell him I said that."

But this isn't the only matchup that parties involved are looking forward to, with forward Ron Artest once again looking forward to the challenge of going at Kobe Bryant again.  Last time the two faced off it was Artest who blocked a key shot by Bryant down the stretch to seal the win for the Bulls.

"I'm quick, too," Artest said. "I try to slide with him and contain him. I definitely look forward to the challenge."