NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 12 The crushing semifinals
In the national semifinals, which is a decisive game, the head coach of Syracuse University, Jim Boheim, chose to fight the main team.

Li You came off the bench with 8 minutes and 34 seconds left in the first half, but the opposite side did not intend to make any substitutions.

The Syracuse University fans at the scene were a little anxious. They couldn't rush inside and couldn't make outside shots. They could only watch the Connecticut big man Knight get better and better.

In his first attack after his debut, Li You faced the lead defense of Lazarus Sims and passed halftime steadily.

Syracuse University is not tall enough inside, and the starting center is only 2 meters tall, but the five players on the field except the point guard are all about two meters tall.

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

The fans of the Academy City shouted hard, but the sound was quickly suppressed by the cheers of the University of Connecticut fans.

With a simple pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, the big man Knight quickly slid down after a false screen. The opposing center Odis hesitated for a moment in defense, and Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, suddenly lowered his center of gravity and accelerated his breakthrough.

Attracting the defense of the two in an instant, center Odis was still sliding backwards, but found that Li You, who was on the move, threw the ball with his left hand towards the basket!
The ball flew above the basket, and the big man Knight quickly jumped up easily. Without any interference, he caught the ball in the air and dunked the basket vigorously with both hands!

"Oh!!"

A beautiful alley-oop dunk, the University of Connecticut fans at the scene yelled with joy.

Syracuse University's defensive shouts have been completely inaudible, and the fans can only watch the 2-meter big man keep scoring points in the paint.

John Wallace took advantage of his physical strength and was always able to break through Kirk King's defense, but after a few pull-ups and missed jumpers, he began to attack the basket again.

This time the referee finally blew his whistle, and coach Jim Boheim breathed a sigh of relief, and then loudly reminded the players on the field:

"Pay attention to defense!"

According to the game plan formulated before the game, after Li You appeared on the stage, three-pointers must be strictly guarded against.

But at this time, Knight on the inside went crazy, and coach Jim Boheim immediately made a hand gesture to help defend.

One of two free throws was made, John Wallace cursed secretly, and then hurriedly retreated, and they couldn't grab the rebound.
At 11:16, the University of Connecticut had another chance to expand the score.

After receiving the pass, Li You quickly crossed the half court with the ball in his right hand. The right flank was close to the three-point line. He immediately stopped and dribbled the ball behind his back twice in a row.

Lazarus Sims, who was facing up, couldn't predict Li You's offensive choice at all, followed his body instinct and subconsciously slid to the left, and at the same time pulled with his hands.

Li You, who had just switched to his right hand, immediately changed direction with his crotch, and at the same time he lowered his shoulders and accelerated his breakthrough.

There was a physical confrontation between the two, and Lazarus Sims pulled the defense, only to slow down Li You slightly, and then he was squeezed past.

At this time, the big man Knight had already rushed to the basket, and everyone in Syracuse University focused their attention on the two of them.

Li You, who broke through the paint, made a covert pass behind his back. With a flick of his left wrist, the ball flew straight to the right corner.

Ray Allen, who just used the cover of his teammates to run out of the open space, did not make any adjustments after receiving the pass, and completed the shot with a slight drift after jumping up.

"Shua!" The three-pointer hit the net hollowly!

At 11:19, the point difference was suddenly widened. Everyone on the University of Connecticut bench jumped up and cheered!
Ray Allen also showed a smile, hit a shot with his first shot, and immediately gave Li You a thumbs up.

Li You quickly backed up with his teammates, and then loudly reminded the big man Knight:
"Stay under the basket, don't come out!"

There is no three-second zone, and what the 2-meter Knight has to do is to protect the basket.

Just as Li You predicted, the opponent began to frequently play pick-and-rolls at the 5th position, trying to get Knight away from the basket, thereby pulling Connecticut's defensive formation.

But Knight just retreated defensively, always wandering around the basket, which made everyone at Syracuse University extremely uncomfortable.

With the last 5 seconds left in the attack time, center Odis was unguarded one step ahead of the free throw line, and scored 2 points with a successful throw.

This kind of offense is not what coach Jim Boheim expected. The core player John Wallace has only scored 3 points so far, and there is a problem with the offensive rhythm.

When the University of Connecticut fell into a positional battle, it was also very simple to play against a small lineup. Li You saw that Knight was successfully locked in the left block position and immediately sent a lob pass.

Then Li You cut in from the left wing without the ball, took away the defender and ran to the right corner quickly.

Everyone in Connecticut took turns, Ray Allen ran from the top of the arc to the left corner, and Dorrent Marshall moved to the left wing.

Kirk King pretended to cut in at this time, but made an emergency stop at the free throw line. The five players on the court completely opened up the offensive space.

After Knight, who has a height advantage, arched into the paint, he faced the opponent's block and threw the ball to the basket.

The moment the ball hit the frame, he once again used his height advantage to grab an offensive rebound.

At this time, everyone at Syracuse University who retreated and fought secretly cursed, and Knight who grabbed the rebound directly threw the ball to the right flank outside the three-point line.

Li You received the ball with a feint, and immediately hit the forward Todd who came up to defend him.

Moved a step horizontally on the three-point line, Li Youxing moved his feet and exerted force at the same time, and quickly completed the shot!
Todd, who had just landed, had no time to make a second block and could only watch the ball fall into the basket.

At 13:22, the point difference was widened again.

In the aviation arena, the University of Connecticut fans stood up to watch the game, jumping and jumping, cheering loudly, they are going to the finals!

The commentator Jim Nantz looked at Li You's calm expression after scoring the goal, and also sighed:
"Lee doesn't look like a sophomore at all. Connecticut put two point guards in the rotation tonight and completely controlled the rhythm of the game."

Head coach Jim Boheim had no choice but to ask for a timeout. Seeing the disappointed expressions of the players walking towards the bench, he felt a little uncomfortable.

Syracuse's current lineup can't solve the interior defense problem, and compared with the top seed team, they do have lineup flaws.

Throughout the first half of the game, it almost became the solo performance of the big man Knight, attacking the basket from the low post, and grabbing rebounds when he missed the basket.

On the defensive end, Knight is also full of presence, constantly interfering with the opponent's offense.

At the end of the half, at 27:38, Connecticut had an 11-point lead.

In the second half of the game, Li You made his debut and continued to partner with Marshall.

John Wallace, who didn't rest for 1 minute in the first half, still couldn't find his touch in the second half.

Although the inside player Odis made throws for several consecutive rounds, Connecticut always responded quickly.

John Wallace's breakthrough was interfered by Ray Allen jumping up on his side. He raised the arc and knocked out of the basket. Knight received the rebound and Marshall immediately accelerated after receiving the pass.

Everyone at Syracuse University quickly retreated to defend. Marshall came to the top of the arc and noticed that the opponent had completed the defense. He passed the ball to Li You who followed up.

The right flank outside the three-point line received the pass. Seeing that the opposing Lazarus Sims was still inside the three-point line, Li You raised the ball and threw it!

After finishing the shot, Li You immediately turned around and returned to the defense. Under the surprised eyes of everyone at Syracuse University, the ball went into the net again!

"Oh!!"

Li You's performance of pretending to be X and retreating defense completely ignited the atmosphere of the scene.

The young people from the University of Connecticut yelled loudly, and the audience in the front row couldn't help standing up, raising their hands and cheering.

31:45, the point difference came to 14 points.

Coach Jim Boheim has not given up yet, standing on the sidelines and shouting constantly, telling the players to pay attention to defense.

However, the inaccurate shooting from the outside made Connecticut's defense smaller and smaller. Relying on Knight's excellent ability to protect the frame, Syracuse University's offense was completely misfired.

In the following games, Li You and Marshall firmly controlled the rhythm of the game, and as the speed continued to slow down, the point difference widened and widened.

At the end of the game, the ecstatic head coach Calhoun threw his fist wildly in celebration, and everyone on the bench hugged into a ball.

The fans of the University of Connecticut took off their white jerseys and threw them into the air together, everyone shouted excitedly.

51:69, Connecticut defeated Syracuse, crushing opponents and reaching the finals!
Li You also laughed and hugged Marshall next to him. This handsome white guy was so excited that his eye circles were red:
"We reached the final! We have a chance to win the championship!"

This is the highlight moment of life, Marshall yelled happily.

Commentator Jim Nantz has witnessed many such moments. The veteran sports reporter briefly commented on the game:

"The top seed University of Connecticut has fulfilled their talents, and they are still one step away, and they have a chance to win the first championship in team history!"

"No one cares about statistics in this game. All they want is victory. This is pure basketball!"

李佑7中4，三分线外4中2，拿到10分3篮板6助攻；

下半场一直盯防对方核心的雷-阿伦9中4，三分线外4中2，拿到14分；
The big man Knight scored a team-high 18 points, and also grabbed 12 rebounds and sent 2 blocked shots.

Billy Parker in the commentary seat looked at the technical statistics in his hands, felt the joyful atmosphere of the scene, and sent his blessings:

"Maybe UConn will make new history this year, good luck to the lads!"

　Thank you book friends for your collection ￣﹣￣
　　
　
(End of this chapter)