Guard With a Knife

At the beginning of the second half, the Lakers replaced Gasol, Ariza, and Fisher as the three main players.

However, the trio did not close the gap back.

Because Doug and Zach Randolph started to play some pick-and-roll effects.

When Zach Randolph can hit some jumpers in the high post, Gasol's defense becomes more and more indifferent... Correspondingly, Doug's path to the basket becomes more common, while the 3-point shooters lurking on the wings also become more common. Got more opportunities.

Moreover, Randolph can also perform post-up singles at the basket.

He's a power forward who can play inside and out.

His size made Gasol uncomfortable.

On the other hand, for the Lakers, since Kobe Bryant did not play, their offense can only rely on Pau Gasol's singles.

Although Gasol can easily cross Randolph's defense, he dare not go deep into the basket easily, because Doug is standing there eyeing him.

This caused him to solve the problem only by jumping or hooking, but he didn't feel very good tonight.

So, the point difference climbed up at a very slow pace.

When the time came to the seventh minute of the third quarter.

The Knicks expanded the score to 12 points with Gallinari's corner three-pointer.

At this time, Phil Jackson finally stood up and asked for a timeout.

He thinks it's ok. This score is almost a lot, just enough to make the game look a little tense. It also made Kobe Bryant realize...you're going to have a tougher game without Bynum.

Phil Jackson made adjustments. He replaced all the main players, and took a tactical board to draw a detailed arrangement of the triangle offense.

At the same time, Richardson clapped his hands vigorously on the visiting team's bench. He shouted in an excited voice: "The Lakers are playing cat and mouse with us, cheer up guys, we will never let them get this way, Knicks It's not a mouse being teased at random."

Richardson used to be an old fritter. He played the game every day and clocked in to work. He only did what he was assigned to do on the tactical board. He even only shot three-pointers and did not participate in other work.

But tonight, he played extremely aggressively, he switched defenses very quickly, and even ran to the basket to block.

He becomes someone else.

In fact, he has been able to get enough lucrative contract extensions, and many teams have issued no less than full mid-level offers to his agent.

But now, it's clearly not about the money anymore.

Except for Zach Randolph, who has just returned from injury, the other Knicks players all have an impassioned expression.

For them, this counterattack road is like a long psychological journey, in which they gained self-confidence and awe-inspiring self-esteem.

beep!

The whistle sounded, and five Knicks players stepped onto the court.

Zach Randolph, David Lee, Gallinari, Richardson, and Doug made their appearances.

The Lakers put on the starting five: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol.

Neither side made any further reservations.

Kobe Bryant made an extremely sharp breakthrough as soon as he came up. He went straight into the penalty area from the left side of the free throw line, jumped into the air under the defense of Zach Randolph, and dunked with a backhand.

This sparked cheers from the entire Staples Arena.

The black mamba also clenched his fists and let out a low growl.

The morale of the Lakers rose with this dunk.

But the Knicks were not intimidated. Doug held the ball across half court and made a simple pick-and-roll with David Lee. After reaching the free throw line, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom came at the same time. Kobe Bryant's defense is extremely aggressive, but Doug uses a very spiritual behind the pass to pass the basketball to Quentin Richardson. Swish!

"Beat-LA!"

Quentin Richardson roars after scoring.

Thirteen days ago, he did not participate in the game that eliminated Atlanta. but tonight,

He seems to have become the Knicks' most fanatical musketeer.

Easy side to fight again, Kobe Bryant and Gasol completed the pick-and-roll cooperation, Gasol hit a jumper in Randolph's defense!

Doug and Zach Randolph pick and roll, assisting Gallinari to slip to the bottom line and score a layup!

Kobe Bryant hits a difficult pull-up jumper.

David Lee feinted at the free throw line and fired Lamar Odom away for a dunk into the penalty area! !

The two sides came and went, not giving in to each other, and the Knicks played amazing offensive firepower.

At the end of the third quarter, 86:75.

The Knicks still lead by 11 points.

This score was beyond everyone's imagination. Even the home fans at the Staples Arena couldn't help being nervous and worried. They finally let go of their arrogance in the second half of the third quarter and shouted "defense" for the home team in unison. Cheer.

However, all this did not change the pace of the Knicks.

"The Knicks' tenacity is beyond imagination. They made almost no mistakes tonight, and every player played with unimaginable focus."

TNT's Earl Johnson sighed in the commentary booth: "The Lakers must show 100% of the state. Before that, all of us underestimated the Knicks. It was not just luck that they made it to the finals."

Charles Barkley said: "There is a problem with Phil Jackson's personnel arrangement. He shouldn't have replaced all the substitutes when he was leading. This gave the Knicks an opportunity."

"The Lakers did underestimate the enemy. But I think...as long as the defensive strength comes up, the Knicks' shooters have to fall into a passive position...The playoffs are a stage for stars, and it is a duel field where stars use their individual abilities to defeat the opponent's entire system. "

Kenny Smith emphasized: "The Lakers have Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and half of Lamar Odom. However, the Knicks only have Zach Randolph who has just returned from injury."

While Kenny Smith said these words, the Black Mamba was furious on the bench. He almost yelled to remind every player to cheer up, focus on defense, and don't let the Knicks have any open shots.

In his roar, the Lakers really stepped up their defense from the fourth quarter.

The L.A. defense played against the Celtics in last year's Finals.

This had an immediate effect, Jeffries' air cuts, Richardson's, and Gallinari's long shots became difficult.

None of them are star players.

So, Dug began to give the ball to Zach Randolph, hoping that he could play the situation from inside the penalty area, and then lead the team into the overall offensive.

But ... Randolph missed three consecutive opportunities, and all his post-ups in the paint were destroyed.

This allowed the Lakers to fight back in two consecutive waves, quickly narrowing the point difference to 7 points.

Doug had to request a timeout.

Then a tough decision was made and Zach Randolph went to rest.

Doug, David Lee, Jeffries, Richardson and Stephon Marbury play.

Randolph's body isn't at its best yet, and...he didn't make it through the full run because he left with an injury in the first round. Therefore, there is a gap between his fighting will and other players.

He couldn't even understand why his teammates rolled on the ground for a ball, and it was hard to understand why Richardson would go to the basket to help Jeffries snatch the backcourt rebound... These are for him It's all too strange. So, he was a little out of place.

This kind of 'out of place' made him 'uncomfortable' and formed some crises. He realized that he seemed to be excluded from this group.

As the game resumed, Doug moved deep into the paint.

He appeared in the center position, and Pau Gasol carried it hard together.

Stephon Marbury controlled the pace on the perimeter, and after David Lee set him a pick-and-roll, he made a decisive shot from beyond the three-point line... Swoosh!

A three-pointer hit stabilized the morale of the army.

Without two brushes, Marbury dare not claim to be the world's number one point guard. You know, in 1996, he almost became the champion. At that time, Kobe Bryant was just a younger brother in front of him.

Looking back, Kobe Bryant dropped the ball to Gasol, and he hoped that Gasol would take advantage of his height to force Dug, who was only 193.

But when Gasol received the ball, he just turned around, yet to impose further action. Like a tiger descending the mountain, Doug rushed up fiercely, hugged the basketball in Gasol's arms, and the two collided abruptly. Immediately with a roar, he snatched the basketball from Gasol's arms.

Gasol was completely stunned, and he looked at the referee with both hands high.

The referee originally wanted to award a scrimmage, but the basketball has already been taken away by Doug, so what else is there to fight for?

The sideline technicians have added a steal to Snoopy's stats.

After Marbury took control of the ball, he slowly moved forward.

Immediately, under the cover of Doug's pick-and-roll, he rushed to the depths of the penalty area, attracted double-teams and then passed the ball out. Jeffries' shot went slightly wide of the basket.

Looking back, Kobe Bryant still hopes that Gasol can use his height to bully Snoopy inside.

Unfortunately, the Spaniard encountered the same defense as Garnett last year. Doug is like a piece of pig iron, as soon as he catches the ball, he hits it hard... Although he is not as tall as Garnett, he is more powerful than Garnett, and he hits harder! He couldn't land the basketball at all, and at the same time...holding it high and hitting it high, he was afraid that this guy would suddenly fly into the air like a grasshopper.

He made two consecutive strong attacks at the basket without success.

This made Kobe Bryant cancel the idea of ​​​​opening the game from the restricted area. He realized that when Andrew Bynum wasn't on the court, it was difficult for Gasol alone to deal with opponents at the basket.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The Black Mamba scored three goals in a row.

The Knicks' Marbury did not give up too much, and he also hit shots one after another.

The two representatives of the 96 golden generation came and went on the stage of the finals, refusing to give in to each other.

But...Kobe Bryant is younger after all, both physically and scoring skills are better.

As the game progressed, Marbury's fatigue was already visible to the naked eye, and the Knicks' lead was gradually being eroded.

Although...every Knicks player is playing the hardest game of his career, but the Lakers are better, as if you have the defense covered in the face, Kobe Bryant can still put the basketball in the basket basket.

With 1 minute and 39 seconds left in the game, Kobe Bryant hit an emergency 3-pointer to overtake the score.

This bullet-like deadly shot ignited the morale of the audience, and all the Lakers fans jumped up, and they yelled in unison: MVP! MVP! MVP!

There was a roar of mountains and tsunami, and the entire Staples was flooded with sound waves.

Their presumptuousness, their pride, and their arrogance have all reached their peak!

Among the shouts, there was an invisible declaration: even if you are allowed to play five minutes first, we will still win the game. We are the Lakers, and we are invincible. You cats and dogs, raise your hands and surrender as soon as possible.

Among the tens of thousands of brooms waving hard, the Lakers players held up their hands, as if they were already waiting for the victory.

Undoubtedly, the killing performance of the Black Mamba has activated the morale of the overall runner-up, and they have sufficient confidence in victory.

In contrast, the Knicks players looked confused.

Obviously I have tried my best, I have shown my best self. But the result is still... like this.

So, suspicion replaced firmness, and wandering occupied his face.

beep!

Doug requested a timeout, which was the last timeout for the Knicks in this game.

All commentators think that the Knicks' timeout is not scientific enough, because there are still 1 minute and 39 seconds left. At this time, the last opportunity to adjust is used up, what should we do next?

When the Knicks returned to the bench, Zach Randolph, who had been sitting on the sidelines for the entire quarter, stood up: "Let me do it, I might be able to hit some jumpers from beyond the three-point line."

"No, Zach, there's no need for a three-point shooter right now."

Doug turned him down. At this time, he didn't want to hear such a speech without confidence.

He turned around and told the team: "Thank you for bringing the game to this point with your grit, tenacity, and ball-for-ball action. I'm so proud of you and hats off to you!"

"Quentin, Stephen, Chris and Eddie, I know you can't even raise your arms now, you have exhausted every bit of energy in your body, thank you for your efforts, it is you who make this game meaningful .”

"Going forward, as a leader, I will shoulder my responsibilities. Win or lose, I hope all of us leave this arena with our heads held high."

Then, he named four people: "Nate Robinson, David Lee, Jeffries, Gallinari! Come with me!!"

beep!

When the whistle blew, Doug high-fived Marbury, Richardson, Eddie Curry, and Chris Duhon, and then led the team to play.

At this point in the game, the Knicks, who are in a desperate situation and are inferior in strength, have no shortcuts and can only fight to the end.

so.

"Come on, Kobe! Let's go heads-up!!"

Doug pointed the finger directly at Kobe Bryant after receiving a pass from Nate Robinson beyond the three-point line.

This move instantly triggered a tsunami in the entire arena.

Fans in Los Angeles looked at the stadium in shock.

If it is reasonable to say that Snoopy provoked Lamar Odom at the beginning, so now he directly provokes Kobe, isn't he seeking his own death?

Staples roared with laughter and curses.

Some people shouted that Snoopy was overreaching, some people called on Kobe to beat the kid until he couldn't take care of himself, and some people said with certainty that Doug was dead.

All kinds of voices are like the public opinion when the Knicks became the Eastern Conference champion.

How does the Knicks deserve to be the opponent of the Lakers?

What qualifications does Snoopy have to challenge Kobe?

This seems to have the same logic of thinking through different routes.

But, Doug did just that!

He just stood on the three-point line, and stretched out his right hand towards Kobe, hooking his fingers!

Kobe Bryant walked up, and he looked at this rookie boy with a cold expression and a decisive attitude: this guy even used the wrong pivot foot for a back-and-back step-back jumper, but now, he seemed to be challenging himself.

The Black Mamba didn't feel that Doug was overreaching, nor did he laugh at his behavior.

Instead, his eyes became serious and solemn.

"Then come on!"

The Black Mamba spoke his words, his tone and volume, as if he was looking for the basketball god for the first time, Michael Jordan said the same.

...