I'm really strong in basketball

Chapter 71 The King of Pick and Roll
In the second quarter, relying on the restraint of Liu He and O'Neal, the role players of the Lakers still performed well.

At halftime, 46:40.

The Lakers still lead by 6 points.

However, entering the second half, the Timberwolves players led by Garnett and Sprewell increased their defensive intensity, and these role players began to struggle very much. They made 3 of 5 shots in more than 0 minutes of the second half.

The Timberwolves used this period of time to successfully overtake the score.

46: 48.

Liu He knew that it was time for him to act.

Lakers offense,
O'Neal asked for the ball in the low post to attract the Timberwolves' attention.

However, Liu He suddenly ran without the ball on the other side, successfully got rid of Sprewell, received a pass from his teammate and shot immediately.

Swish!
49: 48.

Timberwolves offense.

Garnett hit the old Grant in a low post. After shaking his shoulders continuously, he suddenly turned around and broke through. He used his speed to get rid of the old Grant and succeeded in a jumper.

49: 50.

The Lakers attacked, and the old Grant made a solid screen for Liu He. Liu He successfully got rid of Sprewell and shot the ball.

Swish!
52: 50.

Timberwolves offense.

Cassell advanced to the frontcourt, broke through to attract the attention of the Lakers, and then passed the ball to Sprewell.

Sprewell fired from outside the three-point line.

Swish!
52: 53.

The Lakers were attacking, and Liu He relied on the cover of his teammates to run directly out of the top of the arc, catch the pass from his teammates, and shoot immediately.

Swish!
55: 53.

The Timberwolves attacked, and Cassel made a breakthrough and hit a jumper.

Swish!
55: 55.

Liu He almost singled out the three-headed monster of the Timberwolves single-handedly.

Because of Liu He's consecutive scoring, the Timberwolves' defensive focus began to shift to the outside.

Liu He didn't stick to the ball either, and immediately passed the ball inside.

O'Neill immediately began to kill the Quartet.

However, the three-headed monster of the Timberwolves is not easy to provoke. The three of them fired alternately and fought with the Lakers.

The end of the three quarters, 68:67.

The difference between the two sides is only 1 points.

In the live broadcast room of CCTV, teacher Zhang Weiping commented: "The biggest point difference from the beginning to the end of this game did not exceed 6 points. The period when He and Garnett faced each other head-on could no longer be called playing. It was simply a hand-to-hand fight, which consumed a lot of energy. If the game continues like this, the physical strength of both sides in the fourth quarter will become the key to the outcome of the game."

Teacher Sun Zhengping nodded again and again: "Director Zhang is right! Statistics show that Liu He only rested for 8 minutes in the first three quarters, and O'Neal only rested for less than 7 minutes. Both of them played for nearly 30 minutes. Such a high Playing such a high-intensity game, I am afraid that I will not last until the end of the fourth quarter."

Zhang Weiping then said: "No way, the Lakers can only rely on O'Neal and Liu He. Once they leave the game, the Lakers will have nothing to play. Hey, it would be great if Kobe was here. As we all know, Kobe's physical strength is super super powerful Yes, it's okay to play the whole game. Unlike Liu He and O'Neal, Liu He is a rookie, and rookies generally don't have that good physical strength. And O'Neal's physical strength is not that good as he gains weight and age, and this is what makes him In the second game of O'Neal's comeback, his competitive state has not been adjusted to the best."

Sun Zhengping was speechless for a while.

As expected of you, Weiping Bryant!
Don't forget to praise Kobe at this time.

Come back in the fourth quarter.

Sure enough, as expected by "Shuangping", the Lakers encountered physical problems and missed all 5 shots near the three-point line.

The Timberwolves therefore began to unscrupulously compress the defensive formation.

After the Timberwolves compressed the defensive formation, O'Neal was naturally restricted.

So the entire Lakers fell into an offensive drought.

In contrast to the Timberwolves, the 28-year-old Garnett has officially entered the peak of his career, whether it is physical or technical.

Moreover, Garnett is a physical monster. He has averaged more than 7 minutes per game in 39 seasons of his career. Last season, his average playing time reached a terrifying 40.5 minutes. Only missed 6 games.

Regardless of his character and game quality, Garnett's body is definitely a talent.

Similarly, Garnett, who didn't rest much in the first three quarters, didn't seem to be tired at all. He still played with ease and scored offensively. Although the defensive part was not as fast as the start, it still had a deterrent effect.

Under the leadership of Garnett, the Timberwolves once again achieved a lead in the fourth quarter.

With more than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Garnett was even able to block shots in the backcourt, grab the basketball, advance to the frontcourt by himself, and completed a one-armed dunk.

boom!
77: 85.

Garnett alone took care of defense, blocks, advancement, offense, and scoring. He is really omnipotent!
Garnett this season is really too strong!
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

After completing the dunk, Garnett beat his chest and roared, roaring very comfortably.

Tonight, he won!
More than 3 minutes, 8 points behind, of course, this difference is theoretically possible to catch up, and it is not difficult.

The key problem is that the dual-core O'Neal and Liu He of the Lakers are not in good condition.

O'Neill has just come back, and his physical strength has not yet recovered.Liu He's own physical strength is not that good.The two played badly in the first 9 minutes of the fourth quarter. In nearly 9 minutes, the Lakers only scored 9 points.

Thinking about it this way, the Lakers only have the possibility of a comeback in theory, and they will lose in reality.

"It's a pity! It's a pity! O'Neal and Liu He have tried their best, but it's a pity that Kobe is not here, otherwise the Lakers will definitely win."

Shuangping said with emotion.

"Sure enough, Garnett had the last laugh. Liu He still needs a lot of precipitation to challenge his predecessors. He is still too young, and he is still too early to challenge Garnett."

Smith and Barkley said.

As Liu Chui, Steve Kerr naturally supported Liu He, but at this time he could only say: "Liu He has done a good job, Garnett does not have such fighting power at this age. I believe It won't be long before he can really beat Garnett."

Even the Staples Center is slowly quieting down.

Everyone thinks the Lakers lost.

Garnett's roar resounded throughout the Staples Center, which seemed to be mercilessly mocking Liu He's overreaching!

Phil Jackson called a timeout, wanting to check O'Neal's physical condition, after all, he just came back.

If O'Neal's physical condition is not good, then replace him directly to avoid re-injury.

Even "Zen Master" almost accepted the result of failure.

The team doctor quickly gave the test results. O'Neal was just tired and in good physical condition. If he wanted to continue playing, there would be no problem.

Phil was about to ask O'Neill and Liu Hehao if they wanted to continue fighting, but Liu He said, "Shaq, come on, we don't have much time left."

Phil was stunned: Is this kid not planning to give up yet?
O'Neill nodded as a matter of course: "What are you going to do? I will cooperate with you. The Staples Center is my territory, and there is no room for a wild dog to roar here."

Garnett dared to be arrogant at the Staples Center. How can O'Neill's temper be tolerated?

It's just that O'Neill has been recuperating for a while, and his competitive state has not yet adjusted to a normal state, and he is powerless.

Since Liu He said so, it seems that he has a plan in mind, so there must be a way.

Liu He said: "Remember? On the night of the Christmas game, you proved that you are the king of the pick and roll. When you are willing to do the pick and roll, no one can stop you. Now, it's time for you to use the pick and roll to dominate the game." It's time."

As we all know, O'Neal hates dirty and tiring work the most, and pick-and-roll is one of them. He thinks that is what blue-collars should do, not what a superstar should do.

So Liu He wants to persuade O'Neill not to be too direct in the pick-and-roll, but to coax him like a child, constantly praising him and encouraging him.

Sure enough, although O'Neill was still a little reluctant, he was flattered by Liu He's praise, and finally nodded in agreement.

Kobe, who was wearing a suit, looked at Liu He coaxing O'Neal, his mouth was crooked.

It turns out that this can handle O'Neill!
If I had known earlier, I too... Uh, Kobe suddenly realized that he really couldn't do this kind of thing.

If he had this kind of ability, Kobe would not have made enemies everywhere when he first entered the league.

Kobe's character is doomed that he can't do such a thing.

Kobe curled his lips: Humph!The rookie's strength is not very good, he is full of tricks.I don't think anyone will be, I just don't bother to do it.

Really disdainful, not impossible.

The timeout ends and the two sides return to the game.

At the last moment, Garnett pleaded again and stared at Liu He himself, not giving Liu He any hope.

"Rookie, are you still unwilling to give up? In front of me, your struggles are so ridiculous, because these don't make any sense at all!"

Garnett not only wants to defeat Liu He, but also breaks Liu He's mentality.

It's a pity that Liu He was not disappointed, but immediately replied: "I hope you can keep this face until the end of the game."

Hehehe!
Garnett sneered, thinking that this was Liu He's last stubbornness, and the rookie was left with a stubborn mouth.

At this moment, Liu He suddenly started.

Garnett subconsciously moved laterally to block.

boom!
But as soon as he started to move, Garnett felt that he had hit a big mountain, knocking Garnett himself into a mess.

Shaq O'Neal!
At some point, O'Neal mentioned the position of the free throw line and set a screen for Liu He.

O'Neill is a child at heart, and he needs to be coaxed to speak.

But on the court, O'Neill is not a child. After all, no child is 216cm tall and weighs more than 150kg.

That height, that weight, that width, that thickness...

It is simply the perfect body for screens, the quality of the pick-and-roll is unparalleled, and the absolute first pick-and-roll in NBA history.

Garnett tried to get around O'Neal, but O'Neal was too big.

Before he could succeed, Liu He had completely gotten rid of Garnett with an acceleration.

Timberwolves center Elvin Johnson could only be forced to switch defenses.

Liu He faced Elvin Johnson, a perfect small-to-big opportunity.

What's more, Elvin Johnson is 37 years old, and he can still fight in hand-to-hand combat. There is really no chance of winning in the speed competition.

With a change of direction and acceleration, Liu He took Johnson cleanly, drove to the basket, and scored a layup.

79: 85.

"Roar!"

Liu He clenched his fists.

Sure enough, his tactics were correct.

When there is a problem with physical strength and the shooting percentage drops, you have to get close to the basket to score.

After all, there is a truism in basketball...the closer you are to the basket, the higher your shooting percentage.

Liu He roared loudly: "Guys, the game is not over yet, defend!"

Then the first one returned to the backcourt and participated in the defense.

Seeing this, the Los Angeles fans were ashamed: None of our rookie players gave up the game, how could we give up first?We are the rich Lakers!I've been a Lakers fan for 20 years!
Led by the live DJ, more than [-] Los Angeles fans shouted in unison:
"Lakers, defend!"

"Defense, Lakers!"

"Lakers, defend!"

……

The Staples Center, which had been quiet, became lively again.

And the atmosphere can really affect the performance of the players. The tired Lakers players cheered up, and their running pace picked up again.

Timberwolves offense.

Cassell was a little uncomfortable with the sudden increase in the defensive strength of the Lakers. He got lost in the tough defense of the Lakers and even passed the ball out of bounds.

The Los Angeles fans cheered for a while, hoping for another point.

Lakers offense.

Compared to the defensive shouts, the Los Angeles fans even held their breath at this moment, as if they were afraid that their breathing would affect the airflow, which would cause their players to miss the shot.

O'Neal mentioned the position of the free throw line again and set up a pick-and-roll for Liu He.

Garnett was prepared this time, but he found that even if he was prepared, he couldn't get around O'Neal.

O'Neill is too big!

The king of pick-and-rolls deserves his name!
On the scene, Liu He and Elvin Johnson once again formed a one-on-one situation.

Liu He once again easily passed the old big center and went to the basket to score.

Swish!
81: 85.

In an instant, Los Angeles fans cheered again.

Only 4 points away.

Timberwolves offense.

There was another uniform chants of "Lakers, defense" all over the court.

The Lakers played an impregnable defense and once again defended the Timberwolves' offense.

They successfully defended for two consecutive rounds!

Lakers offense.

The scene was quiet again.

Liu He continued to play pick-and-roll with O'Neal, and O'Neal ruthlessly blocked Garnett, who was angry but helpless, with a body weighing more than 300 kilograms.

Liu He took the opportunity to get rid of Garnett.

Coach Philip Sanders jumped up and shouted: "Help in defense! Help in defense! Don't let Liu He fight one by one!"

In an emergency, Coach Sanders made the correct judgment.

Anyway, the Lakers can only rely on Liu He to score, and the other role players are not in good shooting condition.

As long as Liu He is strangled, the Timberwolves can win.

In an instant, Sprewell and Hassel all rushed to Liu He to help the team's big center defend.

However, Liu He took his time and threw the ball sideways.

On the other side, O'Neal easily squeezed Garnett away, rushed all the way back to the basket unimpeded, received a pass from Liu He, faced the unguarded basket, and easily put the basket to score.

Swish!
83: 85.

It's just 2 points away.

At the critical moment, "Madman" Sprewell stepped forward.

After Sprewell broke through, he took a mid-range jumper and made a steady hit.

Swish!
83: 87.

A madman, indeed, has the capital of madness.

Lakers offense.

Liu He continued to play pick-and-roll with O'Neal, and the moment he got rid of Garnett, Liu He continued to train the big center, while O'Neal went all the way down and attacked in two ways.

Coach Philip Sanders looked desperate, how should he choose?Who should be restricted?
Timberwolves players chose to defend Liu He.

Liu He immediately passed the ball to O'Neal, and O'Neal took advantage of the situation.

Garnett was a little impatient and pulled O'Neal.

But Garnett forgot, this is the peak O'Neal, you can't pull it even if you pull it.

Swish!
Beep!
At the same time as the goal was scored, the referee blew his whistle.

2+1.

85: 87.

The Lakers trailed by 2 point.

O'Neal has another free throw opportunity.

Everyone knows that O'Neal's free throws are particularly bad, but O'Neal has another characteristic. The more critical the game, the more critical the time, the more accurate O'Neal's free throws are.

This may be born with a big heart, a real super giant, born for big scenes.

O'Neal walked to the free throw line, although he stumbled a bit, but the basketball jumped twice on the rim and finally fell into the rim.

Swish!
86: 87.

Only 1 points away.

31 seconds left.

Each side has one turn.

The Timberwolves called a timeout to deploy tactics.

After returning, Cassel controlled the rhythm at the top of the arc and tried to compress the time as much as possible.

It is necessary to keep the Lakers' offensive time as small as possible, and to ensure that the Timberwolves' offensive success rate is high enough.

A full 16 seconds had passed in this round before Cassel started to start.

Garnett tried to catch the ball, and Liu He entangled him directly. The two sides launched a final low-post melee fight, pushing and shoving... Garnett failed to get a chance several times.

Seeing that a few more seconds passed, it was nearly 24 seconds.

Seeing this, Sprewell could only run out from the other side to catch the ball.

Sure enough, inside players are easier to be targeted, so key shots are generally executed by outside players.

Sprewell successfully received the ball, but there was so little time left for him, there was almost no time to adjust, Sprewell pulled up and shot.

Bang!

Did not enter.

O'Neal struggled to protect the rebound.

The Lakers attacked with the last 7 seconds left.

Phil also called a final timeout to give the players final arrangements.

The atmosphere at the scene became more and more tense.

　Today is my birthday, add more!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)