Chapter 1040
The Old Fox Makes His Move! Dragic's Performance Comes to an End!
Is it normal to have an orgasm from being hit?
Strictly speaking, it's quite normal, but what if Kobe's opponent goes on a scoring run while he's playing with all his might? Is that still normal?
Kobe must have been furious!
Not to mention that Jackson kept emphasizing that Dragic had never been an All-Star and that Dragic was the best player outside of the All-Star game. If others heard these things, they would only think that he was just comforting people and telling us: This guy is very strong, so it's no surprise that he scores.
But to Kobe, those words didn't mean that at all.
A kid who's never been an All-Star has blown me out of the game? He scored 5 points right over my head?
Damn it, if I don't pin him down and kill him, I'll lose all my dignity!
What else was there?
The Suns' three veterans aren't playing right now, so they need to work even harder and stay focused.
Isn't this a slap in the face for me?
Even without the three elders, I was still led by the enemy team to a high level of attack. If they had been there, I would have been completely crushed by them, right? Is that what you mean?
Just you wait and see!
First came Lin Tian, then Jackson. These two cunning veterans, one after the other, put Kobe through a series of confrontations, which finally ignited Kobe's passion.
"Kid, you're 7-for-12 with 18 points, right?" Kobe immediately leaned on Dragic after returning to the game: "Your shot attempts will keep going up, but your total points tonight won't exceed 20!"
"That's what I said!"
"Whoosh!"
While Kobe and Dragic were trash-talking each other, Lin Tian made a super long-range pass, putting the ball directly under the basket.
Bynum seized the opportunity, went up for a strong layup under the basket, and scored 2 points for the team with a slightly contorted reverse layup, giving the Lakers the lead again!
Yes, although the Suns just went on a run, the two teams were still on equal footing, and the game remains very close!
In the remainder of the second quarter, Dragic was completely shut down against Kobe's all-out attack, while Garnett, under special attention from the Lakers, was followed by Durant the whole time. Durant used his long wingspan and youthful strength to make it difficult for Garnett to find any opportunities to shoot.
As for Nash, although he could still pass and organize the offense with ease under Lin Tian's defense, it would really be the death of him to be asked to be the main scorer.
It's been so many years since he's done something like this, going on a scoring spree against a super defender.
The old man can't do this.
Fortunately, the Suns still have Pierce.
Even though Pierce is getting older and can't consistently deliver 26-7 points per game throughout the regular season, he can still carry the team's offense during certain periods.
Especially when he was facing Barnes, who was relatively easier to beat on the perimeter, Pierce completely dominated him, scoring repeatedly in the second quarter and occasionally passing the ball to his teammates to score as well.
Despite Pierce's outburst, the two sides managed to maintain a balance in the second quarter, with the gap remaining at only 3 points at the end of the first half.
62: 65.
The Lakers are in the lead.
This tension continued throughout the third quarter and the first half of the fourth quarter.
During this period, Kobe completely shut down Dragic, who didn't score a single point for the rest of the first half. In the third quarter and the first half of the fourth quarter, he only managed to get 20 points through free throws.
He scored 18 points in the first 15 minutes of the game, but only managed 2 points in the next 25 minutes. Dragic was completely outmaneuvered by Kobe.
In addition, although Nash delivered 14 assists, which seems quite good, he only scored 9 points, as Lin Tian almost completely shut down his personal offense.
With Durant's strategy of closely guarding Garnett and preventing him from driving to the basket but not shooting, Garnett only made 3 of 10 shots and scored 8 points. Moreover, Durant paid close attention to positioning tonight, and his positioning limited Garnett to only 5 rebounds with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
This is certainly not because Durant's positioning skills are so much better, nor is it because Durant's rebounding ability completely overwhelms Garnett.
It's purely a matter of tactics and positioning.
On offense, Garnett hovered in the mid-to-long range, rarely going in, just waiting to make that one move to grab the rebound. With Durant intentionally defending him, he naturally had few opportunities to rush in and grab offensive rebounds.
On defense, it was Durant's turn to consistently take shots from mid-to-long range.
How could Garnett possibly have a chance to dribble back down to grab a rebound?
Should we let him ignore Durant and just go back to grab rebounds and pad his stats?
While Garnett may want to pad his stats, he can't be completely unreasonable and ignore defense in order to rack up points.
He still possesses the professional ethics that are expected.
Because Garnett couldn't stay deep on either offense or defense, his rebounding numbers were consistently very low. This was definitely bad news for Garnett, who wanted to perform well in the playoffs to secure a big retirement contract.
The guys were frantic, but he was helpless.
With neither of the starting two scoring in double figures, the Suns were able to keep up with the Lakers so closely in the final moments, which was undoubtedly thanks to the other players.
Besides Dragic's 20 points, Gortat also had a blast tonight, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds on 9-of-10 shooting for a double-double. Pierce also exploded from the second quarter onwards, scoring a team-high 27 points.
With some sporadic scoring from the bench players, the Suns managed to stay close in the score until the very end.
Although Kobe was really serious and focused all his energy on defending Dragic, the Suns' three veterans were still on the court, so even if Dragic was locked down, it wouldn't be a big problem for them.
Nash and Pierce are both high scorers, and although Garnett's individual scoring is a bit lacking, he is definitely not a player who can be easily ignored.
103: 107!
With five minutes remaining in the game, both sides entered another timeout period.
"After this timeout, both sides will definitely bring out their ultimate finishing lineups. It's time for the final showdown. The excitement and intensity of this game really exceeded our expectations," Miller said. "Although we knew the Suns were strong, we really didn't expect them to play so strongly in the first game of the playoffs."
"Let's see what happens in the last five minutes, and let's see if the Lakers can defend their first home court in the playoffs!"
On the field, the timeout has ended, and the players from both sides have returned to the field. Neither side has made any fancy moves; all the starting players have continued to play, and there have been no substitutions.
After the timeout, the Suns had possession of the ball first. Nash continued to dribble forward as usual, trying to organize the team's offense, but he clearly sensed something was different.
Lin Tian put even more pressure on him defensively!
It was so heavy that he felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Do you want me to relax a bit and give you a chance to catch your breath, old man? So you won't say I'm bullying you." Lin Tian continued to taunt and trash talk Nash while pressuring him to limit his dribbling space.
"Use it!" Nash was quite straightforward, continuing in his usual style.
"Dream on!" Lin Tian was not surprised at all by Nash's response. He chuckled and continued to intensify the pressure, making it extremely difficult for Nash to even get close to the three-point line.
Nash was also quite helpless tonight. He had to face Lin Tian's all-around overwhelming defense one-on-one. He was obviously inferior to Lin Tian in every aspect. His physical qualities, which were already inferior to Lin Tian's, have become even more incomparable to Lin Tian as he gets older.
At the same time, Nash felt that Lin Tian's defensive pressure had not diminished in the slightest compared to back then, and that Lin Tian's speed, stamina, and strength had hardly weakened compared to when he played in the Finals. Nash couldn't help but sigh: It's not fair!
Why is it that my physical condition is so bad, and I'm declining so rapidly? But Lin Tian, who seems to rely on his physical strength to play basketball, is almost 40 years old and still hasn't declined and is still in his peak condition.
Damn it, why? I'm an MVP too, I've won a championship, why am I so much worse than him?
Nash was indeed a gentleman on the court, with no dirty tricks, playing cleanly and having impeccable character. He was a well-regarded good man in the league, but that doesn't mean he was truly without ambition, much less that he had no temper.
If he were truly a selfless person, he wouldn't have struggled and trained so hard to remain a top-tier guard in the league, nor would he have been able to deliver a terrifying performance and eliminate his former team in the playoffs immediately after leaving the Mavericks.
It's already a miracle that his physical attributes and talent are good enough to play in the NBA. Now, not only can he play, but he can also win MVP and championships. It's impossible for someone who is unambitious and has no temper to do these things.
Nash is just usually quite reserved, always maintaining the composure and maturity expected of a point guard. He suppresses his temper, not that he doesn't have one!
So at that moment, when Lin Tian was suppressing him to the point where he couldn't even organize the team's offense, Nash suddenly ignited.
He felt that he couldn't lose to Lin Tian by such a large margin, and he couldn't let Lin Tian dominate the entire match.
So Nash called for a screen, and a double screen at that!
Garnett and Gortat stepped forward simultaneously, setting a high double screen for Nash from the left and right, a full 2 meters away from the three-point line!
Neither of the two burly men were particularly clean or honest. Garnett subtly shifted his feet, and Gortat grabbed Lin Tian's jersey. The referee yawned. In the last five minutes of the playoffs, he would absolutely pretend not to see such minor fouls.
The game is up to the players!
Using the double screen at the high post, Nash managed to break free from Lin Tian's iron chain and then drove to the three-point line. Durant hesitated for a moment and failed to stop Nash immediately. Nash himself did not move into the three-point line but pulled up and shot directly from outside the three-point line.
"Shh!"
With a crisp sound, Nash's clutch three-pointer sank cleanly!
"It's mine!" Durant raised his hand to take responsibility: "Fuck you! I won't give him another chance!"
"I believe you." Lin Tian extended his hand and gave Durant a high five across the air. "Next, kill him!"
After giving a brief instruction, Lin Tian turned around again to receive the ball and launched an attack.
"Getting into the swing of things?" Facing Nash again, Lin Tian didn't turn around to back him up this time. Instead, he smiled and said, "How does it feel to find your peak again?"
"Not bad." Nash lowered his center of gravity, spread his arms, and continued his defense, which had almost no merits except for his good looks: "I'm also the MVP! I can't let you dominate me the whole game like this."
"I don't want to retire yet!" "I didn't intend to force you into retirement either." Lin Tian said with a smile, "But you've really picked the wrong person to use me as a benchmark."
As soon as Lin Tian finished speaking, he suddenly dribbled between his legs and then accelerated, leaving Nash behind once again!
On the offensive end, Nash gritted his teeth and put in some effort; he was still able to find his rhythm and respond in some ways.
But on the defensive end, no matter how hard he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, even if he broke his teeth and stomped his heels off, he still couldn't stop Lin Tian.
Even the most valiant mantis cannot stop a moving carriage.
"boom!"
With a loud bang, Lin Tian drove into the paint, ignoring Gortat's defense, and slammed the ball into the basket with one arm!
“Fuck!” Nash shook his head helplessly: “There’s really nothing I can do.”
That's so unfair!
Nash's inner thoughts were almost never-ending.
“But you still have us, Steve.” Pierce heard Nash’s words and patted him on the butt as he ran past him. “We’re brothers, we’ll protect each other, won’t we?”
"Just make sure he can't defend against you either."
They can't stop me anyway...
Nash sighed again.
This thing sounds simple, but it's actually quite difficult to make!
How many of those shots did I expect to make?
If he can make 3 out of 10 shots, that's already pretty good. In a game like tonight, do you really think he can just keep throwing them in one after another?
Kidding.
If I don't throw it like that, how am I supposed to break through Lin Tian's defense?
The next time the Suns attacked, it proved that Nash was overthinking things.
He didn't even have a chance to throw it one after another.
When he faced Lin Tian's high-pressure defense once again, and once again called for a high double screen to break free of the defense, Durant quickly moved up and waited for Nash outside the three-point line, spreading his arms to completely cover him!
For Nash, there wasn't much difference between Durant's defense and Lin Tian's defense.
Durant's monstrous long arms and legs blocked almost all of Nash's shooting angles, preventing him from getting a shot off. Nash had no choice but to resort to his signature move: dribbling the ball past Durant and squeezing his way into the paint.
Yes, they smuggled them in, rather than killing them.
Nash didn't accelerate, didn't gather the ball, and he wasn't even facing the basket directly. Nash circled around the court, looking for opportunities, and he hovered inside the Lakers' three-point line.
This is his signature move, which he has always used. Combined with his shooting and passing abilities, he wreaks havoc on the opponent's defense.
This time, however, Nash couldn't find any openings even after circling around twice; Durant's defensive coverage was simply too large!
Then, just as Nash turned around again to look for an opportunity on the outside, a "watch out" reached his ears.
In the blink of an eye, Nash could only barely make out that it was Garnett's voice; as for anything else, it was too late.
Because a pair of iron-like hands had already pressed down on the basketball in his hands, and then with a sudden burst of force, the basketball broke free from Nash's control and left him without hesitation, as if the basketball never belonged to him in the first place.
Lin Tian!
The timing of that steal, the angle at which they double-teamed him—no one on the Lakers except Lin Tian could have controlled it so perfectly! He broke out completely out of Nash's blind spot.
After stealing the ball, Lin Tian immediately launched a counterattack. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the frontcourt and suddenly tapped the ball to the floor. Barnes on the other side was on a fast break to receive the ball. After getting the basketball, he rose up and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands!
"boom!"
After a muffled thud, the Lakers continued to extend their lead.
"The Suns are in a bad situation!" Van Gundy couldn't help but utter a pointless statement that everyone could see through.
Although it was just one missed possession, everyone could tell that the Suns were in trouble, and what's worse, they were right!
The Lakers' intensity comes from the collective effort of the entire team!
"I told you you could do it!" Lin Tian encouraged Durant as he returned to defense, "If they keep using double screens, you know how to take down Steve!"
In the next offensive possession, Lin Tian continued to clinch Nash, while Kobe kept Dragic in check, preventing the young man from finding an opportunity. After several passes, the ball finally ended up in the hands of Pierce, the team's most reliable one-on-one scorer at that moment.
He has been Barnes' biggest advantage tonight.
As for Gortat, although he also scored 20+ points and had a very high shooting percentage, he is ultimately a pure dunker. He can seize the opportunity to dunk, but you really can't expect him to do anything else.
After Pierce pulled away, he went one-on-one with Barnes and used his signature back-to-the-basket move to fake a shoulder. He then chased Barnes around like a madman until he finally found what he thought was a good opportunity. He suddenly pushed past Barnes, stepped back, and was about to shoot.
"careful!"
A warning shout from nearby nearly caused Pierce to commit a traveling violation. The Suns were already on edge, as Lin Tian's help defense was as elusive as a ghost.
But this time, Pierce was clearly fooled. Lin Tian wasn't a god and couldn't teleport, so how could he always appear in the right place?
He didn't even come over to double-team him.
This reminder was shouted out by Lin Tian.
His shout made Pierce pause, immediately losing his chance to get up and strike. Barnes immediately pressed close, hanging half his body on Pierce, making it difficult for him to find any opportunity to attack.
Having already collected the ball, Pierce could only urgently look for nearby teammates to receive it and help him.
However, the Suns' offense had already reached the very last moment before they passed the ball to Pierce, so there was naturally no time to receive it. Before Pierce could pass the ball, the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the 24-second shot clock.
24-second violation!
The Suns were forced into a 24-second violation by the Lakers!
This 24-second violation became the turning point of the game.
After that, the Lakers continued their unstoppable offensive momentum and relentless defensive rhythm. They continued their tenacious defense, and the entire team remained on fire offensively, allowing them to widen the score gap.
Although the score gap wasn't widening particularly quickly, it was certainly increasing at a visible pace.
The Suns, on the other hand, had several weaknesses on defense and were completely unable to withstand the Lakers' offense. Their offensive performance also declined, and they could hardly keep up with the Lakers by relying solely on Pierce's sporadic efforts.
With 1 minute and 40 seconds left in the game, the Suns were on offense. Nash called for a pick and roll again and ran a cross screen with Garnett. After the two quickly separated, the Lakers did not switch on defense. Lin Tian was still closely guarding Nash, who then made a behind-the-back pass to Garnett.
Garnett faked a move after receiving the ball, but Durant, as always, didn't fall for it.
After thinking for a moment, Garnett decisively turned around, leaned his back against Durant, and then pushed in a step. Garnett then stopped, turned around again, and stepped back to collect the ball.
He took a mid-range jump shot and released the ball.
This is something Garnett hasn't done much all night.
Because he knows his current physical condition, he knows that when facing a player of Durant's caliber, it's difficult for him to successfully attack Durant while holding the ball, except for shooting immediately after receiving the ball.
These two players have almost identical body types. Not to mention that they counter each other, Garnett really can't beat Durant now.
But at this point, Garnett still chose to force a shot.
It's not that he wants to be a hero, or that the shot clock is over; it's that his scoring has been stuck at 8 points for a long time.
Garnett felt that, at the very least, he should score in double digits, right?
Unfortunately, Durant did not relax his defense and quickly moved in to interfere.
To avoid Durant's interference, Garnett had to forcefully adjust his shooting arc and barely managed to release the ball without being blocked by Durant.
But with this adjustment, the basketball is now much farther away from the goal.
Ultimately, the basketball didn't even touch the rim; it grazed the net before almost flying out of bounds.
almost!
Lin Tian suddenly appeared out of nowhere again, grabbed the basketball, and threw it towards the frontcourt.
He hurled the basketball towards the frontcourt like a javelin, and no one on the Suns team could react in time. They only saw a blur before the basketball disappeared.
When they turned around, all they could see was Kobe driving into the frontcourt alone, grabbing the ball, and then taking off for a powerful dunk!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, the Lakers extended their lead to 14 points!
The suspense of this match has essentially vanished completely! (End of Chapter)