Basketball Dragon

Chapter 279 We Are The Best Team

At the end of the half, the Knicks led by 4 points, 4 points is not much, but duel between masters, sometimes it is the problem of these points.

It's a psychological advantage and a testament to the attacking power of two well-defended teams.

In the second half, the Celtics' two players who can play with the ball, Garnett and Pierce, also strengthened their aggressiveness.

It's not that Pierce won't be able to score when he meets Li Hai, but his efficiency will drop. The Knicks are the number one team in the league, and a drop in efficiency in front of them is fatal.

So Pierce didn't force it at first, but focused on defense.

Facts proved that he was really not good at defending. He had Garnett to help him, but Li Hai played very smartly and would not go to Garnett's side.

After making Li Hai a foul in the third quarter, Pierce finally understood that he was better at scoring. The offensive end was his world. Even if Li Hai interfered a few times, he was despised on the defensive end.

In the third quarter, the Celtics once evened the score, but their substitute team became a point sending team again.

The Celtics also had no choice. When all the main players returned, they also gritted their teeth and wanted to fight the Knicks to the death.

"The Knicks' classic pick-and-roll, Li Hai casts directly, hits, and the shot is there."

"The Knicks turned the ball fast, Marbury ... hit a three, and in the playoffs, Marbury came back to life, which is not good news for their opponents."

"Pierce catches the ball and shoots the [-]-point shot... He's a little too quick, and that's not the way he's good at it."

With Pierce hitting the iron twice at the last moment, the Knicks firmly seized the chance of victory.

At 94:88, Li Hai scored a game-high 34 points, and the other 5 rebounds and 5 assists were quite satisfactory, but he allowed Pierce to hit a double-digit iron. On both ends of the defense, he is undoubtedly the absolute leader.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers Kobe also performed well, leading the team to defeat the Spurs.

Many people immediately looked forward to the duel between Li Hai and Kobe. Among the hot stars, the two have not met in the playoffs yet.

Such expectations naturally make the other two teams more than a dozen unhappy, but what will happen in the end depends on their strength.

On May 5, the second contest between the Knicks and the Celtics began.

The Celtics naturally worked hard, especially Pierce, who was very dissatisfied with his performance in the first game.

In this game, Pierce was very resolute when he came up to attack, and he took the lead in hitting a three-pointer.

This ball greatly increased his confidence, and he also made several three-pointers afterwards, but the effect was not good.

However, his two-point shooting rate has obviously improved compared with the previous game, and Pierce still played at his own level in the first quarter.

It's just that the Celtics don't have any advantage in terms of score.

Pierce played a lot of balls on the perimeter, and the Celtics' role players had no chances, and their scoring was still not high.

The strategy of the Celtics is to extend the playing time of the main players, and Pierce, who has good physical strength, will not rest. They do this to a certain extent to ease the gap between the substitutes, but extending the playing time of the main players also requires paying. costly.

The Knicks were still resting normally, and when Li Hai and the others rested and returned to play, the Knicks immediately strengthened their aggressiveness on the offensive end, with all kinds of impact and quick transfer of the ball, and their scoring ability broke out immediately.

Pierce didn't take a rest, and his physical strength was not completely without problems. After Li Haihai came to increase the confrontation, Pierce hit the iron continuously again.

As a result, the Celtics sadly found that they did not fall behind in the rotation time, but they fell behind by 9 points after the Knicks played the main force.

They immediately realized the problem. They were facing a team like the Knicks, which could not be defeated simply by increasing the playing time of the main players.

They emphasized offense in midfield, and now defense alone can no longer keep up with the Knicks.

After the start of the second half, the Celtics headed by the Big Three played very aggressively, but the Knicks really completely prevented everyone else to death today.

Defense is not static. When the opponent's core players want to use their performance to drive the team, the Knicks will cut off the connection between them and other players.

In the third quarter, the core players of the Celtics had a good offense, but without the support of other players, they always seemed a bit awkward. Of course, the most serious thing was that they still couldn't limit the Knicks' offense.

This is a side effect of strengthening the offensive end. If you invest too much in the offensive end, there may be problems in the defensive aspect. This is entirely a matter of rhythm.

Seeing that the score gap has been around ten points and cannot be approached, the Celtics also panicked.

If they are beaten by the Knicks like this, the players' confidence will be wiped out.

At this time, someone must stand up and use his personal ability to help the team catch up with the score.

The Celtics increased their three-point shooting, and even Garnett tried a shot from beyond the three-point line, but only Ray Allen hit.

Missing a three-pointer is an offensive failure. The Celtics made a lot of three-pointers. Even if Ray Allen hit two, it was not enough to turn the score over.

At 5 minutes and 26 seconds, Li Hai also hit a three-pointer, stabilizing the lead of the Knicks.

At 3 minutes and 05 seconds, Randolph grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. The Celtics have shown signs of fatigue.

At 1 minute and 13 seconds, Marbury caused a foul from outside the three-point line, and the Knicks were sure of winning.

The total score was 2:0. The Knicks used their strength to take a big lead. They did a good job in both offense and defense. They have strong firepower in the backcourt, and the two insiders can guarantee good rebounds. Their advantage is really difficult. be shaken.

The Celtics are not reconciled to losing like this. They admitted that they did not play well in the first two games, but at the same time they also said that everything will be different after returning to home.

Their head coach Rivers said that Pierce, Ray Allen and Garnett are still in the playoffs for the first time, and they are still improving. After two games with the Knicks, they have found a way to win .

Garnett also said that he will show a better state to help the team win.

Li Hai's response was the same as before, see you on the field.

He does have the capital of arrogance now, but instead of underestimating the enemy, they go to the opponent's home court instead, and they will pay special attention.

They want to build a dynasty and do not allow the slightest mistake.

"They are very eager, yes, we are the best team, I have full confidence in this." Larry - Brown is very proud.

(End of this chapter)