Author: Autumn Leaves Orange

Chapter 161 2-1

The originally stable situation became confusing due to Kobe's outburst.

No. 24 on the opposite side, you don't need to talk about how many times he has hit the iron, and you don't need to tease him about the four-way three-iron, his scoring explosiveness is definitely second to none in the history of the league.

This is Kobe Bryant.

The Black Mamba!

George Karl is very lucky that God is on the side of the Nuggets again.

If Kobe was given three more minutes, the Nuggets might be lagging behind now.

That's how it is in the playoffs. No matter how sophisticated your tactics are or how disciplined your players are, you will be somewhat powerless when faced with the explosion of the opposite star.

Superstar singles have always been the simplest and most effective tactic in this league.

But George Karl also believes in his players. In his opinion, the Nuggets lineup this season is perfect. If Anthony and Li Ran are given another two years and O'Neal is two years younger, he will even have the confidence to use this lineup.

To challenge the arrogant Bulls dynasty back then.

He just explained some relatively common things, such as paying attention to movement, paying attention to tightening restrictions on Kobe, etc. It didn't matter whether he said the same thing or not.

Then, the two teams took to the court to prepare for the decisive battle in the fourth quarter.

I don’t know what kind of chicken soup Phil poured into the Lakers players. As soon as the fourth quarter came on, the Lakers players seemed to have been pumped. The already high defensive intensity increased again. For a while, even the Nuggets’ normal ball transfers were blocked.

had an impact.

Under this sudden pressure, the Nuggets quickly made several mistakes.

Fortunately, Kobe's hand was no longer as hot as it was in the third quarter after taking a rest between quarters, and he also missed several shots.

After three quarters of high-intensity confrontation between the two sides, the scoring rhythm suddenly slowed down in the fourth quarter.

In this case, scoring inside is the most reliable.

In the following time, O'Neal and Gasol began to score points for their respective teams.

As the two core players of the Lakers, the two also started their performances at the same time.

Gasol's performance in the first two games was quite average. Under the joint pressure of O'Neal and Nene, he averaged only 13 points and 9 rebounds per game, which was close to 19+10 in the regular season and the first two rounds.

The data are completely different.

But in the fourth quarter, with Kobe's hand feeling declining, Gasol still shouldered the team's scoring burden.

He made three of three shots and scored six points in three minutes, helping the team stabilize the point difference.

The reason why we talk about stabilizing the point difference is because O'Neal is also doing whatever he wants in the paint.

The use of the current O'Neal is undoubtedly a very particular skill.

Although he is not as omnipotent as he was in his prime, he is still an extremely stable inside scorer.

However, due to his increasing weight and the resulting physical problems, O'Neal's playing time cannot be very long.

During the regular season, George Karl always strictly controlled O'Neal's playing time even if the team lost.

In an average of 24 minutes per game, O'Neal can produce 14+8 data.

It seems unremarkable, but in the playoffs, it is no longer time to conserve energy. In the playoffs, O'Neal's playing time increased to a little more than 29 minutes, and his statistics also increased to 17+9.

This improvement shows that O'Neal is still controlling his performance during the regular season.

Having played in the NBA for more than ten years and even played in the Finals six times, O'Neal certainly knows when to exert force and when to play dead.

In the first half of the fourth quarter, O'Neal and Gasol became the core of their respective teams, supporting the team to move forward before the core players regained their touch.

By the time Kobe Bryant made his first shot in the fourth quarter, six and a half minutes had passed in the fourth quarter.

As if a certain valve was opened, Anthony and Li Ran also scored successively.

The focus of the game immediately shifted, and it once again became a drama between Kobe Bryant and Anthony + Li Ran.

However, no matter how poisonous the black mamba is, there will always be a moment when the venom is vomited dry.

At the last moment, when the scores on both sides were rising alternately, Kobe missed two consecutive three-pointers.

This was not a big problem originally, because the rhythm of both sides was very slow in the fourth quarter. As long as the Lakers defended the Nuggets' offense well, the two sides would still maintain a balance of power.

At this moment, Li Ran stood up. He rushed inside twice in a row, causing An Zhu to foul twice and the score was 2+1.

While scoring five points in a row, Anzhu was also beaten to six fouls and left the game.

The balance of the game immediately tilted toward the Nuggets.

In this way, the Nuggets won their second victory in the series at Staples.

Kobe played 46 minutes and only rested for two minutes, scoring 42 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Li Ran had 29 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, Anthony had 27 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and O'Neal had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Under the siege of the three of them, the Black Mamba spit out all his venom and failed to defeat the Nuggets.

Although this season Kobe has entered his ultimate form a year ahead of schedule after last year's offseason training camp, he still lost two games in a row after his stunning victory in the first game.

In the entire NBA, there are only two people who can single-handedly lead the team to defeat any team.

It's a pity that Kobe is not among these two people.

These two people are called Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal.

Maybe Jimmy Butler’s name will be added in the future?

As the saying goes, if you have Joe, choose Joe; if you don't have Joe, choose Shark; if you don't have Joe, choose Shark; if you don't have Joe, choose Shark; if you don't have Joe, choose Jiba...

After losing a game at home, the next game at Staples has undoubtedly become the focus of this series.

Whether Kobe can lead the team to defend the dignity of the home court and drag the game into the battle of Tianwang Mountain, or whether the Nuggets can laugh away the match point on the road has become the focus of all fans.

The Nuggets and Lakers finished three games, and the next day, the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals also came to an end.

The situation of the Cavaliers in the first two games was very similar to that of the Nuggets.

In their first game at home, they led by two points in the last 14 seconds, but Rashad Lewis, assisted by Turkoglu, pierced the heart.

At the last moment, James clearly had a chance to win, and his performance in this game was incredible. He made 20 of 30 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, 6 of 10 free throws, and scored 49 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists.

However, at the last moment, the Cavaliers made the winning shot from Delonte West, who only made 4 of 13 shots in this game and 3 of 8 three-pointers...

As the "Top Emperor" missed the three-pointer, even though the Cavaliers grabbed the offensive rebound, the time had almost reached zero when Xiao Mo took the shot, so the hasty shot was naturally inaccurate.

Just like that, the Magic took the lead at the Cavaliers' home court.

Putting aside his performance at the last minute, James' overall performance was undoubtedly perfect.

49 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul, with a true shooting percentage of 71.2%!
Chapter completed!