The Whip of the God of Basketball

Before the game started, Paul Pierce carefully checked his ankle, jumped around on the court, and twisted it hard. He felt that there was no problem at all, and gave an OK gesture to the team doctor on the sidelines. Start to warm up.

In the last game at North Shore Garden, Pierce slipped on a breakthrough in the fourth quarter and his right ankle was almost twisted at 90 degrees. He was then carried off the court and never returned to the court. Fortunately, after he left the game, James Posey stepped up tenaciously and hit a key three-pointer. In the end, the Celtics gritted their teeth and suppressed the Lakers, achieving a great situation of 2:0.

After a preliminary examination and an MRI by the team doctor after the game, the team doctor believed that Pierce only had a mild sprain and would only need ice application and physical therapy. He would recover quickly and is expected to be able to play on the same day of the third game.

But how could Fox-Leon and the Celtics' promotional agencies let go of such an opportunity to throw out smoke bombs? The Boston media and the New York media immediately issued an article the day after the game stating that Pierce was likely to miss the third game and the fourth game. Whether he can play in the next game is also doubtful. Pierce himself said bluntly in an interview that the ankle injury is not too bad, but he is not very optimistic either.

This makes the Lakers and Los Angeles fans very excited. Pierce is the Celtics' most important scorer and offensive organizer on the outside, and is also the spiritual leader of the Celtics. Once Pierce cannot play, it will definitely be a major benefit to the Lakers.

Unexpectedly, the whole of Los Angeles was swayed by this kid who was born in Inglewood. He just appeared on the floor of Staples Center, wearing the green jersey that Los Angeles people hate most. And he himself once hated this green outfit, but now he wants to wear this outfit to Los Angeles to kill the Lakers.

Pierce was once a die-hard Lakers fan, and his favorite star was Magic Johnson, the greatest superstar in the history of the Lakers. During the Lakers' most glorious period in the 1980s, their home stadium, the Great Western Forum, was being built in the Inglewood area. , Pierce, who was born there, would beg his parents to take him there every weekend to watch Lakers games. He aspires to one day be like Magic, wearing the Lakers' purple and gold jersey and galloping around the floor of the Great Western Forum.

As a result, on that heartbreaking night in 1998, not only did he fall to an unexpected tenth pick, he was also selected by the team he least liked and least expected to go to - the Boston Celtics. This team that he had cursed countless times as a child has become the first place he played for, and he has stayed there for six years, and it seems that he will stay for a long time.

Recalling this, Paul Pierce's mood was not affected at all. Some of his classmates and friends in Los Angeles were also present at the game, as well as his mother, and his childhood idol Magic Johnson. Except for his mother, Pierce believed that these people would be on the opposite side of him, but he still greeted them with a smile, and at the same time firmly stated that he would help the Celtics be crowned early in Los Angeles!

Once they win this game and have a 3-0 lead, the Lakers will never be able to turn around. Pierce still remembers what Fox-Leon said to him before the game, "Not letting a miracle happen is the biggest miracle."

The closer you are to the championship, the more cautious you must be. Otherwise, your hopes will be greater, your disappointment will be heavier, and your pain will be deeper.

After American country singer Don Williams sang the national anthem at the scene and the DJ introduced the players from both sides, the battle in Los Angeles began in the third game of the 2004 season finals. Tonight's referee is no surprise. The league has appointed Javi, a referee who is annoying to Leon and likes to balance. Looking at Stern sitting on the sidelines with a smile, Leon thought that this guy must want to watch more games in the finals.

Indeed, how could the decisive battle of the century between the Celtics and Lakers end with a sweep? At least it has to have some ups and downs in order to attract more viewers. Leon also expected this. He knew that the Lakers were fighting against the odds in this game and would go all out to fight the Celtics to the death. Therefore, Leon asked the players to take it easy in the first half, reduce fouls, mistakes, and rhythm, so as not to allow the Lakers to build momentum and climax.

However, things don't always go according to the coach's ideas. The Lakers' morale was amazing at the beginning. Payton changed the problem of too much sticking to the ball in the first two games and kept feeding O'Neal the ball. After PJ Brown experienced the torture of O'Neal in two games, he is no longer so vicious, because the shark's elbow is really not vegetarian. Especially in the opening game, Brown would rather let O'Neal score.

At the beginning, O'Neal felt surprisingly good. He could score points as long as he caught the ball. The Celtics did not double-team and rarely committed fouls. They just let the Sharks score 15 points in the first quarter, helping the Lakers win in the third quarter. One quarter achieved 28:24, a four-point lead. 28 points is also the Lakers' highest score in the first quarter since the Finals.

In the second quarter, the Lakers' offensive began to become more and more fierce with the thundering sound of Staples Arena. Jackson sent out a lineup of Fisher, Fox, O'Neal, Kobe and Rush. This lineup was closer to the three consecutive championships. ’s debut. This lineup is obviously more fluid and understanding on the offensive end. The young player Rush is a huge three-point threat on the court. As a surprise player, he hit three three-pointers in the second quarter, once helping the Lakers close the point difference. It opened to 11 points.

The Celtics got into a lot of trouble as the game progressed. The Lakers made a very important adjustment on the defensive end, which was to let Kobe Bryant guard Arenas, while Fisher and Payton dealt with Reid. This restricted the Celtics' first offensive engine. Many times They had to stop and fight a positional battle with the Lakers. This plays into the Lakers' hands. Although the Celtics have more sophisticated tactical coordination and systems, in high-intensity confrontations like the Finals, sometimes no matter how sophisticated the tactics are, they can't compare to superstar singles and fast breaks.

The Lakers understand this well. Jackson insisted that O'Neal and Kobe not waver in singles and made full use of the triangle offense to create opportunities for them. In fact, against the Celtics' super strong overall defense, only superstar singles can really break it. By changing basketball from five people to one-on-one, the Celtics' exquisite defensive cooperation will lose its power.

What worries Leon even more is the referee on the field. Javi, the master of balance, Leon can see through some of his tricks at a glance. Most of the penalties he makes are okay. The problem is that those who wander around The Celtics will call the actions and behaviors on the verge of a foul, but the Lakers will not. Although there are only some subtle differences each time, such as a ball possession and a free throw, the accumulation of these subtle things is likely to bring huge differences to both sides, until it affects the final result of the game.

"If you fucking want the Lakers to win, you can blow the whistle right now to declare the game over!" When Kevin Garnett was called for his third foul on defense in the second half of the second quarter, Leon Finally, he couldn't bear it any longer and roared at Javi. And he was about to rush to the court with his fists clenched, but Carlisle and Cowens held him tightly from behind, preventing Leon from rushing up and punching Javi.

Of course, Javi would not be polite to Leon. He gave the Lakers a free throw opportunity with a technical foul, and then Garnett had to go off the court to rest. Leon replaced Dalembert and formed a twin tower with Brown inside, hoping to withstand the Lakers' attack in the final stage of the second quarter, because the point difference between the two sides was close to 15 points.

When Kobe Bryant hit a free throw at the free throw line, the difference between the two sides became 15 points, 61:46. The Lakers showed strong offensive firepower in the first half, which also gave the Lakers fans at the scene huge motivation, 0: Being behind by a big score of 2 doesn't seem so scary anymore. If we win one tonight, the next game will be in Los Angeles. Just like the semifinals against the Spurs, more importantly, if the score is 2:2, Tianwangshan will be played in Los Angeles.

With less than 20 seconds left before the end of the first half, the Celtics' last attack, with a 15-point deficit, Leon called a 20-second pause and briefly arranged the tactics. After receiving a technical foul, Leon also calmed down a lot. He knew that fists could solve some problems, but they could not solve the current problem.

The Celtics played impetuously throughout the first half. Although Pierce's return gave the Lakers some shock, the Celtics did not take advantage of this advantage and now they must work hard to catch up.

The timeout ended quickly and the Celtics sent a sideline ball. They played a very concise bypassing tactic. Pierce and three other players lined up near the free throw line and then spread out. Pierce pretended to go to the baseline and then circled. Back outside the three-point line, Brown set a screen for him, and Pierce caught the ball and hit a three-pointer.

It's not over yet. The first half was so smooth that the Lakers players seemed to have forgotten how they were abused by the Celtics in the first two games. Fox accidentally served from the backcourt and was touched by Dalembert who suddenly came out. Arenas grabbed the ball in front of Kobe Bryant, then rushed to the basket quickly and succeeded in a layup with a change of hands in front of the timer.

"Buzz!" As the buzzer sounded at halftime, the score instantly became 61:51, and the point difference narrowed to 10 points.

"I told you, if you want the Lakers to win, you should blow the whistle right now to announce the end of the game!" Leon stood up from the bench and yelled at Javi, who was not far away, and then returned with the players. locker room.