I just play ball

Chapter 320 Say No to Houston
At the end of the timeout, the Warriors played a hand-off three-pointer at the top of the arc, and Thompson made a steady hit.

Turning around, Barnes began to obstruct Li Yue from receiving the ball from the backcourt, while the others did not assist Kobe at all. It seemed that they intended to encourage Kobe to play singles, but Kobe followed his plan and calmly launched backs from the waist.

The scene showed a one-sided situation. Kobe squeezed first and then topped, feigned by the way, and easily ate Curry alone.

Changing sides to fight again, the Warriors ran tactics patiently and scored two points with difficulty.

In this way, after the first quarter, the Lakers led 44 to 31 thanks to Li Yue and Kobe Bryant's wonderful performances one after another.

After the start of the second quarter, Livingston, Landry, Hawes, Meeks, and Covington appeared on the stage. They had three-pointers and mid-range shots. The gap was too large to respond at all. The Lakers always maintained their lead and expanded further. In just over two minutes, they had already led 52 to 34.

Mark Jackson was forced to request a timeout in advance to make adjustments, but when he came back from the timeout, he was only able to switch back to the main force without finding a solution. Li Yue still forced the Warriors to spend most of their energy on guarding, and Kobe seemed to be in a no-man's land.

With the Lakers leading 78-59 at halftime, the Staples Center began to prepare the celebratory ribbons.

Li Yue only scored 25 points in the halftime, and only sent 5 assists, but hit 6 three-pointers, successfully tying the record for the number of three-pointers made by the Lakers in the halftime of the playoffs, while Kobe made 18 of 12 shots and scored efficiently. With 31 points, it seems to be back to the top.

As a team representative, Li Yue was interviewed by reporters at halftime, accompanied by the audience throughout.

When talking about the reason why Kobe scored higher in the halftime for the first time since this season, he said that Kobe has always had this kind of strength, and other teammates also have it, but they all choose to sacrifice their personal data in order to let the team win more.

When talking about whether he will seek more shots in the second half, he said that everything depends on the coach's arrangement and the team's needs.

Back in the locker room, D'Antoni made a simple analysis, thinking that the Warriors' strategy is to let Kobe play singles, wait for Kobe's efficiency to drop or give him a pinch at a critical moment, and hope that others will feel cold because they haven't touched the ball for a long time.

It sounds weird, but if you think about it carefully, this is indeed one of the ways for the Warriors to win. After all, in a regular matchup, it can be said that all five positions are suppressed, a bit like the Pistons' routine against Jordan, splitting the game.

Kobe proposed to take the initiative to attack, taking advantage of the current advantage, to find a way to deal a fatal blow to the Warriors. If it can be successful, it can avoid variables in the game and avoid the influence of the referee.

The whole team agreed unanimously, and the coaching staff discussed urgently and came up with the idea of ​​focusing on three-pointers.

First of all, it is because Li Yue's three-pointer feels overwhelming in the half court, and secondly, because he has less physical contact when shooting three-pointers, and at the same time, he is equipped with a small lineup to speed up in an all-round way. cast.

The small lineup can also quickly counterattack or quickly return to defense, which can slightly alleviate the embarrassing situation of 3v5.

In addition, the rotation speed of the small lineup is also faster, and against the small lineup of the Warriors, the inside line does not suffer. It is the best choice for the Lakers to use it when they have already led by 19 points.

Having made up their minds, the whole team eagerly returned to the arena, preparing to officially end this round of the series.

...

In the arena, the long whistle sounded.

The central big screen shows the starting lineups of the two teams in the second half, point guard Kobe vs. Curry, shooting guard Iguodala vs. Thompson, small forward Li Yue vs. Barnes, power forward Covington vs. Green, center Landry vs. David plum.

The Lakers took the initiative to seek change, which attracted the attention of the four people in TNT.

"It seems that Coach Mike D'Antoni and the staff who installed the ribbons on the scene are equally anxious." Barkley said with a little playfulness, "I can see that they will focus on three-pointers, and of course Coach Mark Jackson can also see it."

"So what?" O'Neal looked confident, "You know Jordan will break through, can you defend against it?"

"Anyway," Kenny interjected, "the Lakers lead in hard power, and the best record in the regular season is enough to reflect it."

"Let's see if the Warriors staged a big comeback," Ernie said, "or the Lakers extended their lead."

The referee blows his whistle and the Warriors attack.

Curry received the ball in the backcourt, quickly took it to the right wing, passed it to David Lee at the top of the arc, and used Barnes to cover and cut inside.

Li Yue decisively switched defenses, chased Curry to the basket, caught a glimpse of Green standing on the fixed wall as a cover in advance, and decisively stepped out of bounds with one foot. Curry used the cover to accelerate to get rid of the moment, and jumped directly out of bounds to catch up.

Perhaps it was because he was full of energy after the half-time break. Curry ran extremely fast and took advantage of half of his body to the extreme. He rushed to the left sideline first, and David Lee had already passed the ball to Thompson on the left.

Seeing that Curry was about to make a shot after catching the ball, Li Yue shouted to switch defenses, and Covington stepped forward to meet him.

As a rookie, Covington didn't hesitate or get nervous. He directly blocked Curry's right hand and only gave his left hand room to operate. The left hand dribble could only rush to the baseline. Li Yue had already been waiting there, which was regarded as a roundup.

Curry also reacted quickly, immediately raised the basketball with both hands, and raised his head to signal Green to move to the basket.

Li Yue saw it, and raised his hands without hesitation, while walking around to block the passing space.

Green's official height is 201 cm, and he is still wearing shoes. Compared with Li Yue, he is nearly 5 cm behind. ball.

He braked suddenly, ran back towards Curry, and took the initiative to change to a pick-and-roll cover.

This is terrible for Curry!
Li Yue chased after him closely, and before Curry could use the cover to transfer, he teamed up with Covington to attack in advance, like two cars blocking the side!

Mark Jackson yelled for Green to take it apart, and Green hurried back.Curry twisted hard, and when he was about to take off and pass the ball, Li Yue slammed the basketball hard, and Covington followed closely, and three seconds passed in the blink of an eye.

The referee whistled and whistled for a free throw line scrimmage, which was executed by Covington and Curry.

Cheers erupted in the arena, and Barkley glared and said, "The ball just now reminded me of the Heat's game against the Bobcats yesterday. LeBron and Wade teamed up to pinch Kemba Walker and forcibly snatched the basketball like a Western robber."

The players of the two teams settled down quickly. Li Yue and Kobe separated at the 45-degree three-point line on the left and right sides.The referee holds the ball with both hands, gestures left and right, and gently throws it upwards.

Covington jumped up, used his height advantage to touch first, and slammed forward vigorously.

The basketball flew to the right, and Li Yue kicked off the ground and stood behind Thompson as a back screen.

Kobe grabbed the basketball, turned around and rushed forward with a low center of gravity. He threw Thomp away in an instant and went straight to the frontcourt. Barnes quickly switched diagonally to intercept, and Li Yue followed up and joined Iguodala at the center line. .

The two made eye contact, and Iguodala stood on the fixed wall as a cover in tacit understanding. Li Yue took the opportunity to shake off Thompson and strode towards the left corner. At the same time, Kobe dribbled the ball to the free throw line, single Grab it with your hand and take three steps.

Most of the Warriors' attention was drawn to the basket, and even Curry, who was switching defenses, subconsciously turned his head to check, but at this moment, Kobe changed his singles style in the first half, gave up the difficult and picturesque pull-bar layup, and chose to go Left corner kick.

The basketball flew like a time bomb, Mark Jackson yelled for defense, and Curry rushed forward.

But it was too late. Li Yue, who had been waiting for a long time, caught the ball with both hands, took advantage of the situation and took off, and made a steady three-pointer with a wide open.

Swish!The basketball went into the net, 81 to 59, and the Lakers led by 22 points.

The Warriors attacked, Curry dribbled the ball to the top of the arc, and the other four fell to the bottom line in pairs.

For a moment, Green used Thompson to cover the top of the arc and raised the wall, and Thompson himself ran to the right corner.

Curry took the opportunity to shift to the right, and just half a step away, he was blocked by Covington who switched defenses.

As expected, Curry calmly pulled the ball back, and Green took it apart and made an air cut to the basket.

Covington did not return to defense. He teamed up with Kobe to continue double-teaming and pressing. The two raised their hands side by side to block the upper pass space, and spread their hands to interfere with the lower pass route. The tacit cooperation was like two robots executing the same piece of code.

Curry continued to retreat helplessly, until Barnes came up to respond, and then split the ball to reorganize the offense, but there was no good strategy, and there was too little time, so Barnes simply let Barnes hold the ball and play against Li Yue.

Seeing this, the audience booed and interfered. Barnes bowed and took the ball, patiently looking for opportunities.

But Li Yue directly stretched out his hands to press, and refused to cooperate with the performance as if playing a big game. He mainly interfered with the rhythm. After several consecutive stops, Barnes, who had no clue at all, was in a hurry and unconsciously raised his center of gravity.

The center of gravity of the body is high, and the position of the shot power is also high. The distance from which the basketball bounces back to the hand after falling to the ground is also longer, which means that the time and distance of losing control increase.

Pa, a successful steal!Li Yue caught the ball in his hand, took two steps forward, looked up and saw Iguodala crossing the half court first, he hit the long pass without hesitation, then straightened his body and rushed forward to follow up .

The two came to the free throw line in an instant, and Iguodala made a low hand. Li Yue caught the ball and was about to jump, but he caught a glimpse of Barnes and Thompson flying into the air at the same time. The bottom line turned around and observed.

Kobe just rushed to the top of the arc, Li Yue saw the ball, and quietly ran to the right corner.

Kobe caught the ball and rushed into the paint in the blink of an eye. The three Warriors double-teamed.

But Kobe chose to pass the ball again, and it was passed to the right corner. The Warriors' defensive formation was in chaos, and Li Yue was left unattended.

The basketball took off again, and the three-pointer went into the net. The Lakers led 84 to 59, and the advantage expanded to 25 points.

The referee blew his whistle, the announcer announced that the Warriors requested a timeout, the cheers from the Staples Center were deafening, and the central large screen showed Mark Jackson standing in front of the technical stage, but he didn't see the nervousness and faint smile before.

"To be honest." O'Neal put his hand on his chest, "Golden State Warriors is a team that is heading for glory. Their core construction has been completed. Curry has cross-generational three-point shooting skills and the second best ball in the league. Feeling, Thompson can grow into a top 3-and-D player in just one season, and rookie Draymond Green also has the potential to become the best defensive player."

"Please talk about the key points." Barkley spread his hands, "Elevate the Warriors to set off the strength of the Lakers?"

"Exactly right!" O'Neal smirked, "If they hadn't met the Lakers, they would have the strength to advance to the second round."

"Let me talk about three-pointers." Ernie said, "Li Yue has hit 8 three-pointers so far, only one to tie Vince Carter, created by Jason Terry and Rex Chapman. The record for the number of three-pointers made in a single game in the playoffs."

"I hope the Warriors will hold on." Kenny smiled, "I want to see Li Yue break the record."

...

The time-out is over and the game continues.

The Warriors took the initiative to change, Barnes switched to power forward, and Green switched to small forward.

The referee whistled, Curry took the ball to the right wing position, and raised his hand to signal his teammates to open the space. He wanted to single-play the ninth-time first-defense player Kobe Bryant. Mark Jackson did not stop him, and the other four Warriors quickly opened the space.

Kobe pulled up his trouser legs, bowed and clapped his hands, skillfully put on a frontal single-defense posture, and shouted loudly.

But at the moment of shouting, Curry yanked the ball and moved half a step sideways, making a three-pointer with a one-step movement.

Kobe was stunned, and then turned around with a smile, only to see the basketball hit the basket and hit the iron, and Landry caught the defensive rebound.

Curry shook his head helplessly, Kobe smiled and patted him on the shoulder, and the two ran to the front court side by side.

When the Lakers landed, Li Yue took the ball from the right wing and singled out Green.

He changed hands under his crotch, and then changed hands behind his back to test. Seeing Green move his steps to the right, he followed the ball and took off to shoot.

when!The basketball hit the basket and rebounded and collided, and was caught with a bang. The Lakers led 87 to 59.

David Lee picked up the basketball and retreated out of bounds, swung his arms vigorously and made a long pass to Barnes, and the Warriors rushed to attack.

All the Lakers quickly retreated, Covington chased closely, and the other four formed a 13-weak defense formation in high positions.

Barnes lost support and forced a three-step layup against the interference. He never thought of throwing the ball directly over the hoop. He wanted to grab it when it hit the ground, but Li Yue had already caught it.

Li Yue brought the ball to the top of the arc, faced Green's defense, frequently changed hands under his crotch, and suddenly retreated and jumped to shoot.

boom!Green, who swooped in, knocked him down. The referee didn't blow his whistle, but the basketball went into the net hollow.

The large central screen showed that Li Yue broke the previous record for the number of three-pointers made in a single playoff game, and the audience reveled.

"How many records has Li Yue broken?" O'Neal enviously said, "It's a pity that he hasn't played for almost two years since he entered the league. He missed too many youngest records, but it's only a matter of time before he breaks those cumulative records."

...

Leading by 31 points, the Lakers did not feel any pride. All the main players were still focused on attacking and defending. It was not until the Warriors replaced the main players in the fourth quarter and chose to give up. On the contrary, the Warriors' players who are about to enter the free market in the summer attack violently, almost all of them are singles, without any threat.

In the end, the Lakers won 129 to 96, and the series advanced to the second round of the Western Conference with a total score of 4 to 1.

When the final whistle sounded, the ribbons descended, everyone chanted, and the Staples Center became a sea of ​​joy.

Li Yue got up and walked towards the Warriors. He hugged Curry, Thompson, Barnes, and David Lee successively, shook hands with Mark Jackson and talked, and then came to the center of the venue to accept an interview with a TNT reporter.

"Your opponent in the second round is the winner of the Clippers and Rockets. Which one do you want to play against?"

"Whoever we play, we will advance. Of course, we hope it is the Clippers. After all, Houston is an away game."

(End of this chapter)