Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

The second half begins.

Suns head coach Paul may have seen the special effect of Fat Miller and replaced him with starting Mark West. After all, everyone uses the same foul tactics, and Fat Miller's appearance may have pushed him back. It will also have miraculous effects.

As for the Jazz, in addition to Li Shengli and Malone, Stockton, Tyrone and Crotty all rotated in the first half, so there is no problem with their physical fitness.

…

As a result, the rhythm of the third quarter was successfully won by the Jazz.

On the offensive end, Li Shengli's shots have been greatly reduced, and he mostly supports his teammates and picks and rolls. If he doesn't take any shots, the Suns naturally don't need to use too many foul tactics to contain him.

On the contrary, Malone became the main point of attack. Crotty and Tyrone could always find opportunities to take action safely with Stockton's precise passing.

As for the defensive end...

With Li Shengli in the penalty area and a top power forward in Malone, the Jazz's defense was stretched to a terrifying degree. However, the Phoenix Trident charged forward desperately and kept hitting Li Shengli's side.

Jerry Sloan's arrangement came into effect at this time.

Tai Lung shrank the defense line and shared part of the defensive pressure with Li Shengli. As for Crotty, let alone Crotty, the restricted area was the throne he guarded. Anyone who dared to rush would be greeted from three directions. He didn't care whether it was dirty or not.

There is also Barkley, whom Malone is guarding. In a top-notch matchup, both of them are in full condition. It is also very difficult for Barkley to charge alone.

Although there are occasional fish that slip through the net and attack the basket, Li Shengli is not a fat Miller. His long legs are his advantage, and his weight is also within the normal line. His short-distance sprint movement in the penalty area is astonishingly fast.

In just half a quarter, not to mention other statistics, his blocks soared again.

And every time he blocks a shot, the referee next to him is trembling with fear, fearing that he will also be jumped by Li Shengli. Fortunately... a volleyball cap that wants to complete a powerful smash has many requirements. Li Shengli blocked three shots in half a quarter. It didn't cause much damage and got a foul.

Can't fight!

At least we can’t fight now!

Halfway through the third quarter, the Jazz once again created a 7-point lead. Due to physical exhaustion and the number of fouls, Jerry Sloan finally replaced Li Shengli and replaced him with Mike Brown. As for the mammoth Mark Eaton...he Retirement life has begun, and Jerry Sloan is not willing to let him retire from the Jazz with injuries.

So Li Shengli sat on the dugout until the end of the third quarter.

During his off-court rest, the Suns did not get a chance to breathe, but the life was indeed much easier. At least Mark West, who had been slapped in the face by Li Shengli, became a firepower that the Suns could rely on.

5 points!

With a 5-point lead, the Jazz entered the most critical final battle of the game.

…

On the Jazz side, Li Shengli reappeared, and Malone entered the time to rest and replenish his physical fitness. He was replaced by David Benoit, and other positions remained unchanged.

As for the sun...

At the center position, Fat Miller was finally brought out again to deal with Li Shengli, while Barkley and Malone came off the court to rest.

At this point, one of the Big Three of Salt Lake City has been eliminated, and one of the Phoenix Trident has also been eliminated.

…

The Jazz attack first.

In Malone's absence, Li Shengli's inside offense was naturally the main one, but until the fourth quarter, the Suns' defense also improved to a death-defying level. If they wanted to keep passing the ball in to Li Shengli, they would have to bear the burden during this period. The chances of mistakes are too great.

So the ball was passed around the outside several times and Crotty made a pull-up shot.

Crotty's offense is mostly based on shooting. Compared with the original pitcher Curry, his killing distance is farther, but the long distance means that the shooting rate decreases, and the most profitable way is to shoot three-pointers.

Boom!

The basketball jumped out of the basket and Crotty hit the iron.

Fat Miller under the basket started instantly and could not jump or move, but his positioning effect based on his weight was still very good. At the same time...the two substitute power forwards, the Jazz's David Benoit and the Suns Richard Dumas also rushed forward.

"Don't even try to get a rebound!"

Fat Miller yelled, and Li Shengli didn't care. He turned sideways and bumped forward. The collision made Fat Miller spin around and couldn't find anyone. However, he jumped up and successfully caught him. Backboard!

"You damn fat man, I'll just grab this rebound, how about that?" After throwing the ball to Stockton on the outside, Li Shengli did not launch a second attack.

"Everyone shoots, I have rebounds!"

After receiving Li Shengli's pass, there was no need to look for an open space on the outside line, because Stockton was in a good position and decisively took the second shot.

Uh-huh!

The goal was scored.

The Jazz lead by 7 points.

…

Easy side to fight again.

The Suns' big ass Barkley is not here, but Kevin Johnson and Dan Marley are still attacking the inside as always. Even if Tyrone and Crotty stick to the first line, the fast Kevin Johnson still breaks through the Jazz defense.

Fat Miller knew very well what his teammates wanted to do, so he didn't make any move. If Li Shengli made a save, he would squat under the basket and wait for it to happen.

Kevin Johnson is only 1.85 meters tall. The purpose of attacking the inside is to cause fouls rather than block shots. So after seeing Li Shengli save, he immediately shot an arrow on horseback and jumped to take action.

However, unlike the conventional offensive posture, Kevin Johnson leans back slightly and bends his right leg forward to maintain his center of gravity and create contact.

When the point difference is not fatal, every round and every score is extremely important, especially in the fourth quarter. Naturally, Li Shengli will not let his opponent shoot easily, but he still pays attention to and avoids it while flying. Convicted.

As a result, the two men fought hand-to-hand in the air.

The moment Kevin Johnson took action, his originally bent right leg straightened out and kicked Li Shengli's knee...

This action is very dangerous, not only for Li Shengli, but also for Kevin Johnson himself. After all, both of them lost their center of gravity at this moment, and no one knows what accident will happen after landing.

It can be said that Kevin Johnson was looking for Li Shengli to risk his life, betting on who would lie down first.

boom!

Kevin, who had already planned it, landed directly on his butt in order to avoid ankle injuries. However, Li Shengli faced this sudden change and leaned forward before landing. He instinctively supported his body with his hands and lay on the floor, but he was not injured.

Uh-huh!

The goal was scored.

Beep!

The referee blew the whistle and awarded Li Shengli a foul and an extra penalty shot.

…

For a moment, the atmosphere at the American West Arena exploded again. After all, the point difference was not big now. This time the free throw was scored, the point difference was back to 4 points. The Suns were expected to win their first victory, and what made them most excited was... ...Li Shengli committed 5 offenses!

As for the Jazz, Jerry Sloan has a bad temper, pointing at the referee and scolding him. Fortunately, Malone pulled his coach. If he was called for a technical foul, the consequences would be even worse.

On the field, Li Shengli stopped doing it.

In Kevin Johnson's offense, there was no problem at all in calling him an offensive foul. It was even too light. Calling a flagrant foul was not a serious matter, but... the referee was stunned and called a defensive foul?

If it had been called like this in the first half, the entire Jazz army would not be too angry, but now it is the fourth quarter that determines the outcome. Calling Li Shengli into a fatal five fouls is equivalent to driving the Jazz to death.