The rest is just noise

Chapter 1335 The death knell tolls for you

With nearly 8 minutes left before the end of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers and Lakers each fine-tuned their lineups.

However, the intention is completely different.

The Trail Blazers wanted to slow down the pace and delay the decisive moment by a few minutes, while the Lakers looked like they were taking advantage of your illness to kill you.

The Lakers' lineup is Dumars, Liu Yuqing, Wilson, Tragedy, and Garnett.

In the playoffs, the Lakers fielding this lineup usually means they are going to play "beautiful basketball."

"As expected of Coach Lu, he does not intend to seek stability, but also wants to eat his opponent in one go." Laimbeer made a professional prediction, "The next four minutes will be the most important four minutes since the beginning. If the Trail Blazers are unable to resist the Lakers

The game will enter garbage time."

"On the other hand, if the Lakers' offense cannot establish a victory, then this game will be even more suspenseful."

Bob Costas asked: "Bill, do you think the Lakers can do it all in one go?"

Laimbeer shook his head and said: "It's difficult. You have to know that the Trail Blazers still have two superstars standing on the court. To kill the game in front of them, the Lakers need to perform at their best."

Back in the game, Jordan relied on Olajuwon's pick-and-roll to dribble into the three-point line, jumped up to the right paint area, and scored a layup after a confrontation.

68 to 85

As the only player in the game who has never taken a break from the start to the present, Louis does not believe that Jordan's physical strength is unlimited.

As a 35-year-old veteran, he must be ready to play the entire game.

However, once the situation gets out of control, under the double blow of inner despair and mental breakdown, physical strength will be exhausted faster than imagined.

The Blazers gave up their frontcourt defense.

This is also a manifestation of their desire to conserve physical strength.

As Dumas dribbled the ball across half court, he tried to get some instructions from Louis.

For example, what tactics should be used...

He was not familiar with "Beautiful Basketball", but Louis didn't give any hint and just looked at him quietly.

Then, in the frontcourt, Dumars saw Garnett coming to the high post to ask for the ball. Then, he saw Wilson, Liu Yuqing and the Tragedy Master already outside the three-point line.

So he didn't have to think about anything else, he just handed the ball over and stood there waiting for their instructions.

The moment Garnett got the ball, Wei, Wei, and Liu crossed paths and the Blazers' defense immediately went into turmoil.

Wilson directed Dumas to move to the left corner, and Liu Yuqing used the tragedy master's body as a barrier to counterattack on the right wing.

Just when the Blazers' attention was focused on the tragedy maker and Liu Yuqing, Wilson unexpectedly broke through and caught the ball from the outside.

No one realized what happened, but Wilson's ball had already been released.

"Whoosh!"

88 to 68

For the first time since the start, the point difference widened to 20 points.

Wilson stayed where he was and looked at Jordan mockingly: "Mitch, are you guarding me? Is this the defensive attitude you should have when you are 17 points behind?"

"You must be tired, right?"

Louis clearly saw Jordan's expression change.

It's impossible to say that Benj's trash talk didn't touch him at all.

In the next round, Jordan's performance fluctuated.

In the past, he would call pick-and-roll to save energy. Now, Jordan seems to be ten years younger and wants to break Wilson's defense.

The God of Time stands eternally in the sanctuary that is invisible to the naked eye, and even people like Jordan cannot avoid being corrupted.

His attack was completely guessed by Wilson. Not only did he fail to complete the shot, but he also got hit by the opponent's fingertips.

Jordan's shot did not hit the basket because it was blocked, but luck and misfortune depended on each other. Olajuwon was standing exactly where the ball landed. He grabbed the falling basketball, raised it up from the basket, scored and caused tragedy.

foul.

Olajuwon's goal saved the Blazers' lifeline.

But for the point difference, it is still a drop in the bucket.

Extra free throws were made, 71 to 88, and the point difference came to 17 points again.

"I'll control the ball!"

Wilson shouted.

"Then what do I do?" Dumas asked.

Wilson said: "If nothing happens, stand in the bottom corner, but you must listen to my command."

Dumas had no objection.

Even if Benj doesn't say anything, he will follow the other party's command.

When Wilson dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, Portlanders deeply felt the difference between the core of "beautiful basketball" and the tactics launched by players who were not familiar with "beautiful basketball".

Dumars was disconnected from the team, and Wilson had it all laid out by halftime.

Then…

Garnett blocked the ball with his left back and then passed down. The tragedy maker covered the inside corner of the right corner and cut outside.

The moment Wilson dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, Jordan was about to face off when his opponent turned the ball over with his right hand and threw the ball inside with his low hand.

For the Trail Blazers, they feel that their defensive skills have just begun.

In fact, the moment Wilson dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, the offense was over.

Wilson's underhand lob pass assisted Garnett to score a dunk.

90 to 71

"If you omit the time it took for Benj to dribble across half court, the Lakers' offense just took less than two seconds..."

"What happened? Bill, do you know what the Lakers did?"

"All I know is that the knell is about to toll for Portland."

They also didn't lose a single goal after returning from the timeout, but the Lakers did it so that fans could tell who had the absolute upper hand.

The rose garden is being shrouded in despair.

Even the fans know clearly that if the game continues like this, the Blazers' hope of coming back is zero.

They don't stand a chance.

Yes, both sides scored 100% after the timeout. However, the Trail Blazers were obviously supported by their personal abilities, while the Lakers seemed to be five people in one, making the game look like a piece of cake. Every offensive round of theirs

Not as easy as a high-level conference finals game.

The Trail Blazers relied on the personal abilities of their superstars to hold on for dear life, but the Lakers took one of the only two superstars on the team off the court to rest.

Because the show that is about to be staged does not require two superstars.

The personal ability that the Blazers struggled to support finally failed, and Garnett's defense caused Olajuwon's singles to fail.

The tragedy maker grabbed the rebound and threw a long pass to Liu Yuqing who was about to hit the ball.

Liu Yuqing caught the ball in the frontcourt and scored Wilson.

Wilson strode directly to the basket and dunked.

92 to 71

With a 21-point gap, the Trail Blazers requested a timeout.

Quiet, extremely quiet.

The Rose Garden is known as the noisiest away game in the West, but now there is almost no noise here.

Trail Blazers fans are silent.

They fell into an inextricable pessimism.

The fans at the scene had a strong feeling that the team they had high hopes for would be completely defeated by the Lakers at home.

This not only means that Riley's last dance has failed, but also means that Jordan's dominance of the Western Conference has officially ended.

Since 1992, they have reached the Finals for five consecutive seasons, only to return empty-handed.

this is too scary!

It’s too torture!

Riley called a timeout, but in front of the players, he didn't know what else to do to change the situation.

Everyone looked at each other speechlessly.

Finally, Jordan broke the suffocating silence: "It's not over yet! The game is not over yet! We still have a chance!!!"

Jordan may be the only person in the world who still thinks the Blazers have a chance.

Unwilling to give up, Jordan used all his strength to break through Wilson's defense, but his absolute speed was no longer as good as before.

Even if he was broken through, Wilson still had the ability to pursue, but in the end he still failed to prevent Jordan's lever.

Jordan tried his best to score another goal.

What's the significance? It gave the fans at the scene a little hope.

There will always be naive people who believe that Jordan can completely dominate the game now as he did when he was young.

But on the defensive end, the Blazers' performance became increasingly miserable.

Louis didn't even know whether they played well or the Blazers suddenly collapsed.

They chose to double-team Wilson to interrupt the Lakers' strategy.

This decision made people confused. Wilson passed the ball to the tragic player. The tragic player instantly found Liu Yuqing who was standing on the "whale landing". The latter caught the ball and hit a three-pointer.

With smooth transfers, precise running, and smooth coordination, the Lakers' performance brought the team's offense to a new level.

But the Trail Blazers still pin their hopes on the superstar.

Jordan broke through Wilson again and then made an emergency stop.

However, Wilson caught up with him in time and blocked him from the side.

In this world, the fairest and most unfair thing is time.

Others cannot steal it, but you cannot keep it. You are born with it, but you cannot change it.

The Lakers then completed their counterattack and further widened the point difference.

Jordan, who never doubted himself, began to waver.

From this moment on, Jordan could no longer lie to himself.

Not only does Wilson have a better team, he may even have a better individual ability than him.

Because his prime time is over, but Wilson is standing at the pinnacle of his life.

Louis sighed secretly, he may have witnessed with his own eyes the moment when the Jordan era of the Trail Blazers died.

(End of chapter)