Chapter 1042
The Suns' Counterattack! The Veterans' Last Battle!
Gortat's victory over Bynum in the series gave the Suns their first possession of the ball.
Then, unusually, Garnett stopped going to the high post to get the ball and instead took it in the low post with his back to the basket. He spun past Turiaf and pulled up for a powerful two-handed dunk!
"Awoooooooo!" After the slam dunk, Garnett let out his signature wolf howl. Although he was no longer with the Timberwolves, Garnett's howl has always been a trademark that has accompanied him.
With Garnett's howl, the Suns' morale was completely ignited. The Phoenix fans in the arena could see the team's determination, and their cheers became increasingly frenzied, almost deafening. They hoped to help the team find more confidence in their own way.
Ultimately, fans know that this series may very well be the last series the Phoenix Trio will play together.
The fans love this team as much as they hate their owner, and they know how stingy their owner is.
If this team is destined to disband after losing this series, then at the very least, it shouldn't happen at home. At the very least, they should secure a victory at home!
The fans' thoughts are simple and direct, pure and passionate.
Unfortunately, they were up against the Lakers, a ruthless team that showed no mercy and had no sentimentality to speak of.
This year's Lakers are going to win!
When Garnett's early dunk boosted the team's morale, the Lakers' response was much more cold-blooded.
Lin Tian initiated a pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, then blew past Nash and drove into the paint. After being double-teamed by Garnett and Gortat under the basket, Lin Tian made a no-look pass to Durant outside the three-point line.
Without Garnett's presence, Durant pulled up on the spot, completely ignoring Pierce's interference, and coldly shot a three-pointer.
"Shh!"
With a crisp sound, the Lakers took the lead. This three-pointer instantly dampened the atmosphere at the Suns' home court, and the fans immediately fell silent.
But it was only for a moment that they were stunned by the Lakers' simple, direct and incredibly efficient approach. They suddenly realized that the Lakers' determination seemed to be no less than theirs.
Even so, fans won't become depressed over a single goal.
After a brief pause, an even louder roar echoed through the arena as fans chanted wildly, hoping their team could deliver a relentless and sustained blow to the Lakers!
So the Suns continued their offense. They could hear the cheers of their fans, and they didn't want to disappoint them. After the Lakers executed a classic pick-and-roll, the Suns' signature move came to the fore!
Nash dribbled around, looking for screens, then passed the ball to Garnett at the high post and tried to draw the defender away as much as possible.
Garnett received the ball at the top of the key, and Pierce ran over to try and hand off him, but Garnett didn't choose to pass the ball to him.
Pierce walked away without stopping, then set an off-ball screen for Dragic, who was running towards him, to block Kobe.
Kobe finally managed to shake off Pierce, but after only two steps, he ran into Garnett. Garnett had just finished a handoff with Dragic and moved laterally to block Kobe, giving Dragic a clear shot opportunity.
Don't hesitate, just pull it out and throw it away!
"Shh!"
This young man, who has only played well in the first half of the first game of the series so far, also had a pretty good start.
"Diego! Diego! Diego!"
Phoenix fans love this young man, they love this clutch shooter, and they also love the close cooperation and understanding between Dragic and the veterans.
For a team to smoothly complete the transfer of power is something every fan dreams of.
The cheers from the Phoenix people grew even louder once again.
But this time, their cheers lasted even less.
The Lakers opted for a quick inbound pass from the baseline, and Lin Tian received the ball and sprinted towards the frontcourt!
The moment Dragic scored, Lin Tian clearly saw Garnett, who had been dominating the rebounds in the previous two games, move a step toward the baseline to try and grab the rebound, while Gortat was already standing under the basket.
opportunity!
Lin Tian knew this was his chance, so he called for the ball, sprinted forward, and advanced in one smooth motion, almost instantly reaching the frontcourt before anyone else.
Nash could react and defend him, but Nash simply couldn't defend Lin Tian. Whether Nash could react or not was irrelevant.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Tian had already dodged Nash and entered the paint. Then, he leaped up from outside the three-second zone and raised the ball high and straight with one hand.
Next up is what Suns fans feel is a gliding distance that takes longer than a century.
"boom!"
Finally, a loud bang was heard as Lin Tian slammed the ball in with one arm, scoring 2 more points for the team!
Faced with Lin Tian's domineering dunk, the fans in the arena fell silent once again.
They seemed to have finally remembered how terrifying and invincible this opponent was.
The Phoenix fans recalled how Lin Tian had humiliated them in the Finals.
They were afraid; they fell silent.
Lin Tian was clearly quite dissatisfied with the fans' silence.
He was so aggressive, like he was about to kill someone, but then he went quiet after a dunk?
That won't do! You can't be so listless!
Cheer up, guys!
So Lin Tian raised his hands to his ears, signaling them to make more noise, to shout louder and use more vulgar language!
The crazier and more unrestrained the fans are, the more exhilarating it is for Lin Tian to defeat the Suns!
Soon, the fans in the stadium roared again. They did not disappoint Lin Tian, and a torrent of profanities swept towards him.
But Lin Tian seemed not to hear them at all, as if they were the most beautiful music. He still had his hands by his ears, listening to the roars and shouts of the fans, and their provocations.
At this moment, Lin Tian looked exactly like a pervert.
But it's a monster that the Suns can't beat!
Amidst the frenzied and determined roars of the Suns fans, Lin Tian completely erupted in the first quarter!
Next, after the Suns missed an attack, Lin Tian grabbed the rebound and quickly drove to the frontcourt. After a crossover dribble, he pulled up and launched a three-pointer!
This time, Lin Tian couldn't shake off the defense. Dragic stood right next to Lin Tian and raised his hand to interfere. Surprisingly, the interference was quite effective, and the basketball bounced off the rim and missed.
Just as Dragic breathed a sigh of relief, he turned around and discovered another terrible scene.
There wasn't a single player inside the three-point line!
Or rather, there was no one there when Lin Tian shot the ball.
But now there are people.
Lin Tian, it's still Lin Tian!
This guy clearly sensed that his shot wouldn't go in, so after landing, he immediately accelerated and sprinted towards the spot where he predicted the ball would land. He grabbed the rebound before anyone else could, then jumped again and sent the ball into the basket.
Lin Tian's madness continues!
In the first three games of the series, Lin Tian averaged only 22 points and 16 assists, with only one game in which he scored more than 25 points.
He still played quite conservatively. The Suns team wasn't even worth Lin Tian going all out against them. He played very easily and effortlessly, winning the game one after another without breaking a sweat.
But tonight, everything was different. As if finally waking up and needing to warm up, Lin Tian dominated the first quarter of the game!
He only provided one assist in this quarter, the three-point assist to Durant at the start of the game.
For the rest of the time, Lin Tian would choose to attack personally whenever he had the opportunity!
In fact, this is the best strategy the Lakers should have chosen, because Nash is the weakest point in the Suns' already weak defensive system. Targeting him is the first option other teams will definitely choose, even if their own point guards are not good at scoring, other teams will find ways to exploit mismatches against Nash.
There's nothing we can do; he's old and we can't defend against him.
But honestly, Lin Tianzhen didn't really bully Nash in this series. He spent more time organizing the offense and suppressing Nash on the defensive end.
But tonight, he needs to stretch his muscles.
And this event resulted in another single quarter scoring 20+!
With 7 of 11 field goals made, 2 of 3 three-pointers made, and a perfect 4 of 3 free throws, Lin Tian scored exactly 20 points in the first quarter of the night!
He also used this 20+ to tell everyone: I was just too lazy to play in the first three games. When I decided to unleash my power, no one could stop me!
However, the Suns were also in pretty good form tonight.
Garnett's pre-game speech did have a significant effect!
In this quarter, Garnett continued his excellent performance, scoring 5 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in a single quarter. Although Nash was completely outplayed by Lin Tian, he also made 2 3-pointers, so he was not entirely helpless.
In addition, Pierce, Dragic and others also scored, and the score was still very close at the end of the first quarter.
31: 29!
A 2-point difference!
Despite Lin Tian's explosive 20-point performance in the quarter, the Lakers still only held a 2-point lead, demonstrating just how tenacious the Suns were tonight!
They were indeed in pretty good form tonight. In front of their home fans, the veterans of the Suns really gave it their all, hoping to give the fans a final, beautiful memory.
"It's no use living in the past." Four minutes into the second quarter, the key players from both sides returned to the court, and Lin Tian once again faced Nash with the ball: "People have to accept getting old, otherwise what awaits you is an even more painful blow, and your pride will be completely destroyed."
"So what should we do?" Nash lowered his body and spread his arms wide, showing no sign of letting up: "Surrender with your hands up and offer no resistance?"
"That doesn't seem quite right either, does it?" Lin Tian actually smiled and then said, "However, retiring directly next season might be a good option."
"Too early!" Nash remained unyielding, even sticking close to Lin Tian and increasing his defensive intensity.
"Let me guess, you all know that your defense isn't good enough to stop me, and you also know that tonight, offense alone won't win. What did D'Antoni plan? Double-team me? Let me drive into the paint and force me to pass?" Lin Tian continued to attack Nash while dribbling the ball: "Or are you just going to let me score 80 points all by myself?"
What do you think?
"I bet you guys don't have the guts to let me score 80 points, so you'll relax your defense on other players, like Kevin!"
As Lin Tian finished speaking, he suddenly accelerated and started his attack. He aimed for Garnett's direction and broke through. Sure enough, Garnett immediately stepped forward to double-team Lin Tian.
Then Lin Tian made a behind-the-back pass, and the basketball accurately came to Durant's hands. After receiving the ball, Durant pulled up and shot, which was his signature mid-range jump shot.
"Shh!"
After the crisp sound, the Lakers' lead reached 6 points.
"I was right, Steve. Your defensive variations are less than the variations I have when I turn over in my sleep. I can predict what you're going to do even with my eyes closed." After assisting Durant's score, Lin Tian looked at Nash with a relaxed expression.
"So what can we do?" Nash's mental fortitude was indeed extraordinary. He was just as relaxed as Lin Tian, who could see through their strategy at a glance: "Who told you to have such an overpowered lineup?"
"Three top scorers teamed up together, have they no shame?"
"You guys had the nerve to team up with three MVPs and an All-Star back then?"
"We never won a championship back then!"
"Neither Kobe nor Durant ever won it!"
"you are not human?"
"I am God!"
The two argued back and forth like children, but their hands and feet didn't slow down either. Nash quickly moved to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Garnett. Garnett, who had gained confidence in the last few games, received the ball, faked a move, and then drove straight to the basket. Turiaf really couldn't stop Garnett and could only watch as he rushed to the basket, made a layup, and kept the score close.
"Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!" Van Gundy shouted excitedly from the commentary booth: "The league's top offensive matchup, the league's best offensive engines, and the league's top finishers have begun their real battle in this series! And tonight is definitely the climax of this matchup!"
"Even down 0-3, the Suns' veterans didn't tank or give up. They continued to work hard and give their all! They brought out their best tonight!"
Miller said, "Let's see if this series can continue tonight!"
"I think the most important factor in whether the Suns can win tonight is their offense!" Jackson said. "Because their defense is really hard to trust and hope for. If they want to win, they can only rely on their offense!"
"But in the previous few games, their offense had been quite good, yet they still lost." Miller, now experienced, knew exactly what to say and how to coordinate with Jackson at this moment.
"So they need to play even better tonight! If their offense was 90 points in the previous games, then if the Suns want to win tonight, they need to play 120 points! After all, their defense is only 50 points, and it's very difficult to improve it no matter what. To win, they need to rely on offense! And it needs to be a super-level offense, and they need to maintain it throughout the game!"
"That's the only way they can win tonight's game."
The Suns' offensive performance tonight was absolutely outstanding; their shooting percentage and success rate were quite impressive.
But in the first quarter they encountered Lin Tian, who was firing on all cylinders, and in the second quarter they encountered Durant, who was firing on all cylinders.
Before Lin Tian delivered that assist to Durant, Durant had already shown his good touch tonight. In the first four minutes of the second quarter, he made a mid-range jumper and a layup. After Lin Tian entered the game, Durant played even more easily. He no longer had to run at full speed to barely find an opportunity. He no longer had to waste a lot of energy and effort on physical contact and finding opportunities. Not to mention that when he was on the court, he often had to fight hard against his opponents to find offensive opportunities.
When Lin Tian was on the court, Durant was very comfortable; he only needed to receive the ball and then shoot.
Durant felt that he was best suited to play with guys who could pass the ball! He wanted to play with someone like Lin Tian, who had top-notch court vision and overall game awareness, on a team with a perfect system.
Although everyone says he is a natural one-on-one mastermind, a chosen one-on-one savior, and many people hope that Durant can develop passing and playmaking abilities, Durant himself feels that he is best suited to be a pure finisher, that he should just catch the ball and shoot without caring about anything else.
After meeting Lin Tian, he found the playing style that best suited him.
Efficient, simple, comfortable, and most importantly, he likes it.
Durant has been having more fun this year than in any of his previous years.
It's not that Kobe and the Lakers treated him badly before; in fact, the Lakers and Kobe treated him extremely well.
They genuinely mentored Durant bit by bit, hoping he would improve quickly, that he would become the backbone of the team, that he would succeed Kobe as the next leader of the Lakers, that he would be versatile, and that he could do many things besides scoring.
The Lakers have good intentions; they are guiding and developing Durant into a player of Kobe or Magic Johnson's caliber.
But Durant didn't like it.
He simply enjoys being a pure attacker and finisher; he doesn't care if he's the team's leader or if he takes the most shots. (End of Chapter)