Zhiba NBA

Chapter 231 (230) Kobe Bryant in Europe

Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals returns to the Toyota Center on June 1.The two sides returned to the same starting line, this is the so-called battle of Tianwangshan.The Lakers welcomed back the suspended Kobe and House, and the Rockets also welcomed Tracy McGrady.

Kobe Bryant had a high-spirited look as soon as he appeared on the stage. After being suspended for one game, he suffocated and looked like he was bound to be ashamed.The Rockets have a strange lineup that has never been used in the regular season. Span replaced Tracy McGrady as the starting point guard.

Pau Gasol wins the jump ball.Kobe seemed annoyed, but he was still calm. He came up with the ball to attract him, and then hung it to the inside. Mutombo took the team's first goal and missed.After Bosh grabbed the rebound and took a closer look, he immediately passed a long pass to Reid who was running in front and hit a layup.

Van Gundy's forehead lit up, and he cursed again on the sidelines.This retreat was too slow to be countered by the opponent at the beginning of the game. It was a low-level mistake.

Battier was about to take a three-pointer after receiving a pass from Kobe, but Jefferson rushed to block it.Unexpectedly, Battier was just a fake move. He dribbled through Jefferson with a low hand and then made a jump shot, but unfortunately he missed.The Rockets handed Yao Ming a singles hit, 0:4.

After several rounds, the score widened to 6:17.Kobe gradually became impatient. He did not pursue individual singles, but actively created opportunities for his teammates. Unexpectedly, his teammates felt cold today and failed to send out an assist.McGrady almost gave up offense and focused on defending around the front, which made Kobe consume a lot of energy every time he caught the ball.McGrady's selfless devotion to being a hero behind the scenes further inspired the fighting spirit of other Rockets players, and they also played very passionately and efficiently.

Kobe finally took the initiative to ask for the ball. When he got the ball and shook it, he made a three-pointer.McGrady missed the block, but the ball bounced out of the frame.Gasol suddenly jumped off the rebound and made a tip-in.

Jefferson, who served the throw-in, was a little careless, and Deron suddenly rushed out and broke the ball.He scored an easy layup, 10:17!

It's a pity that this performance was only a flash in the pan. As the Lakers replaced Kobe and entered the rotation, the gap in depth appeared.The Lakers lacked Odom, the bench leader, and fell into a vicious cycle of relying on Gasol to fight alone as they played.At the end of the first quarter, they fell behind with a big score of 17:30.

Van Gundy yelled again on the sidelines, but the Lakers players were silent but their hearts were full.As a professional player, who doesn't want to win?What's more, there is a chance to unseat the two-time champion Rockets!

After the kick-off, the Rockets played very patiently. Spann made a long pass and directly found Roy in the bottom corner. However, Roy was not eager to take a shot when faced with a three-pointer.This time, Spann was not polite. He accelerated through Deron and made a layup. The point difference widened to 15 points.

It had to be the steady Shane Battier, who scored a three-pointer from Kobe and scored a victory for the Lakers.

After receiving the serve, Spann suddenly started to speed up and drove straight to the basket like lightning, but unfortunately he missed the layup.Bryant held the ball on the outside and attracted two double-teams, and then assigned it to Deron on the flank. Deron made a strong pass from the basket and made a pass from Mihm, only 10 points away.

Bosh beat Gasol under the basket and missed, Kobe grabbed the rebound and launched a counterattack directly.He dribbled to the three-point line and made a gesture to break through the middle. After tricking Jefferson, he made a 360-degree turn and wiped it in. Roy stepped forward to help defend, but saw that Kobe was not dragging his feet at all. After turning around, he jumped up and hit a small throw.The whole action was done in one go, and there was no time for the defensive players to react.

"As expected of Kobe!" Even the tricky Barkley couldn't help but praise.

Spann reproduced his magic and made a strong breakthrough to the basket to meet Mihm and hit a layup.

"Is this a battle between American Kobe and European Kobe?" Kenny Smith laughed.

(Spanoris is known as "European Kobe", but his career in the Rockets was not reused due to many conflicts with Van Gundy. So that Spann still scolded Van Gundy many times after returning to Europe. In an interview, he said that the two general managers of Dawson and Morey recognized Spann as the Rockets' No. Van Gundy did not deliver on his promise)
Bryant lobs Mihm with a clever lob after drawing the defense high.Mihm was not greedy either. After catching the ball with his back to the basket, he observed Gasol who was cutting in, and handed him in place.Gasol catches the ball and directly jumps the ball to hang the basket and dunks, still an 8-point difference!
It was Spann who came forward again, Bosh and Jefferson opened up space for him, and Roy cleverly attracted Kobe's defense and stepped forward to cover Deron.Kobe was a step slower in switching defenses. This time, one for two directly caused Spann to be emptied. He drove straight to the basket and made an easy hit.

"Wow, amazing Greek kid!" Barkley exclaimed loudly.Although Spann performed well in the regular season, but this time he stepped forward when Billups was suspended, scoring consecutive points to help the team stabilize the lead, which is really outstanding.

The Lakers still have to rely on Kobe, he dribbled left and right and pulled up a three-pointer!
Rockets substitutions, Yao Ming and Varejao came to the court, Bosh and Dapu were replaced.

But Yao Ming came back, but he didn't take the initiative to ask for the ball.Varejao stepped forward to set a screen for the hot Spann, wanting him to hit another one.Sure enough, Spann also successfully broke through for a layup, but bounced out of the frame under Gasol's interference.Yao Ming grabbed the rebound and then scored outside Spann.Due to the chaos of the Lakers' defensive formation in the scuffle just now, Mihm was the closest to Spann. He hesitated whether to step forward to defend, but Kobe quickly shouted for him to go up.But it was this hesitation coupled with Kobe's shout that caused Mim's nervousness, and he rushed forward.Spann missed a three-pointer, but caused Mihm's foul and made 3 free throws!
Spann calmly made three free throws, and the point difference returned to 10 points!Billups, who was watching the game off the court in a suit and leather shoes, was so happy to see his younger brother playing so well.

But this seems to have aroused Kobe's anger.He hit a three-pointer, turned back to defend Span, blocked his layup, and hit another layup in the counterattack.Then he caused fouls again and again and went to the free throw line, and continued to make free throws to further narrow the point difference.

The Lakers won by 6 points in this quarter, and Kobe exploded wildly in the second half, scoring 18 points in a single quarter.Spann, who is in excellent form, also scored 11 points, which is not much inferior.At the end of the first half, the Lakers were only 48 points behind at 55:7, and the suspense is still there.

(End of this chapter)