Basketball Dragon

Chapter 96 Increased Confidence
After getting to the bottom of the basket, Li Haiqiang made a backhand to hang the basket, and O'Neal broke out with all his strength to block him once, but he couldn't block him for the second one.

After all, the big shark is not what it used to be, and there is no way to take off quickly in a row.

Time was running out, and the Heat still sent the ball to Wade after a timeout, but Li Hai suddenly changed his defensive strategy at this time, letting Wade go a long way.

Wade hesitated for a moment, pulled up the mid-range shot, and the basketball bounced when it hit the rim.

Wade hadn't made a mid-range shot for a while, and Li Hai also used this method to disrupt the opponent's rhythm.

The Knicks served, and the Heat rushed to foul as soon as it was sent.

Li Hai stood on the free throw line, and after missing the first free throw, he realized that he was already very tired, and the muscles all over his body felt a little stiff.

He adjusted and hit the second free throw.

There are only 4 seconds left in the time, and the Heat must choose a three-pointer.

Wade did not shoot a three-pointer in the whole game. In the end, Damon Jones of the Heat made a shot. Marbury defended very well this time. Damon Jones missed a three-pointer. The game ended and the Knicks pulled back a victory at home.

Li Hai scored 41 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, becoming the most dazzling presence in the game.

Domestic fans are going crazy. Yao Ming just scored a new high of 33 points in the playoffs, and Li Hai scored 40+ all of a sudden. Whoever said that people of yellow race are not suitable for playing basketball is simply nonsense.

It would be better if the Rockets could pass the ball to Yao Ming more smoothly. If the Knicks let Li Hai become the boss, the game would have been won already. If the two were on the first team, they would definitely point to the championship. Very happy.

Li Hai knew that this was a way for the fans to participate, and it was also a good expectation. It might be naive, but it could give people strength.

All he can do is to go all out to play well.

The playoffs continued. In the East, the 76ers, like the Knicks, also pulled back a game. The battle with the Pistons became 1:2. The Celtics and Pacers were inseparable, and the score became 2:2. 1:2, the Wizards also pulled back a game at home, and the battle with the Bulls became [-]:[-].

In the west, the Suns have 3:0 the Grizzlies, the Spurs 2:1 the Nuggets, the Mavericks have won two games in a row, and the Rockets are already 2:2, and the Sonics and the Kings are 2:1.

With the progress of the competition, some awards have also come out.

Li Hai defeated Okafor and Ben Gordon with an average of 18.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, becoming the best rookie.

And Ben Gordon also gained, beating the Boston Celtics Ricky Davis to become the best sixth man.

Most Improved Player was undisputedly won by Bobby Simmons of the Los Angeles Clippers, Best Defensive Player was won by Ben Wallace of the Pistons over Bruce Bowen of the Spurs, and Best Coach was given to the Suns Mike D'Antoni with the league's first record.

Among the individual awards, only the regular season MVP has not yet come out. Now the most popular ones are the Suns' Steve Nash and the Heat's Shaquille O'Neal.

On May 5, the fourth game between the Knicks and the Heat continued at Madison Square Garden.

The defensive strategies of both sides have not changed, and the Knicks still put all their troops on the inside, wrapping O'Neal tightly.

However, the Heat's attack mode has changed slightly. The outside line occupied most of the firepower at the beginning of the game.

Wade's touch has also improved a lot. Under Li Hai's defense, he stepped back and hit two points in the first attack.

He and Eddie Jones formed the Heat's offensive firepower, especially Eddie Jones, who had a clear advantage in the confrontation with Crawford.

The Knicks' offensive strategy has also changed a bit. Just like at the last moment of the previous game, Li Hai's chances of touching the ball have increased a lot.

It was Eddie Jones who defended Li Hai. He bullied Crawford enough on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, Li Hai's physical fitness could crush Eddie Jones, who was no longer at his peak.

When the Knicks attacked for the first time, Li Hai carried Eddie Jones to the free throw line where he had the highest shooting percentage and hit a mid-range shot.

Then it was a breakthrough that caused the opponent's foul and made two free throws.

The Knicks are not afraid if the two sides attack from the outside. What they are most worried about is that the Heat will completely hit the inside and then drive the three-pointers from the outside. .

The two teams played inextricably in the first quarter, ending with the Heat leading by 2 points.

At the beginning of the second quarter, both teams were on the bench. The Heat's Kenyon Dooling and Alonzo Mourning played a combination of internal and external cooperation when the main players were not on the court.

However, the performance of the Knicks as a substitute was still worrying, and Li Hai was replaced back on the court immediately.

Facing the Heat's backup small forward Shandon Anderson, who was still in the Knicks last season, Li Hai once again made reasonable use of his physical advantage to complete 2+1.

During the few minutes when Li Hai was on the bench, he continuously broke through and pulled the Heat's defense, helping the team to chase the score back.

Seeing that the situation was not right, the Heat also replaced Wade and directly faced Li Hai.

Wade did not make a mid-range shot like in the first quarter, but strengthened his breakthrough, which caused the Knicks to foul the Knicks' inside defense.

On the battlefield of the playoffs, the role of star players is more obvious. If Wade has the physical strength to hit the basket, Li Hai will also be very troubled.

On the Knicks side, Li Hai is probably the only one who can hit the basket like this.

Marbury is technically fine, but after all, he is a little short in height. When he encounters a strong insider like the Heat, rushing in is easy to cause mistakes.

Therefore, most of the Knicks' attacks are outside shots, and all inside shots are also pulled out.

The consequence is that the Knicks' offense is not as stable as the opponent's, but it explodes very sharply.

How to make the team's offense approach the good side is very important to Li Hai. After he increased the touch, Marbury and Crawford were actually more efficient on the offensive end, but the chances of shots also decreased slightly.

After all the main players of both sides returned to the field, the score entered a stalemate again.

At the end of the half, the score between the two sides was tied at 48:48.

"I have a feeling that the Heat played a little bit in the first half, and they will definitely show their true skills in the second half, but we can win."

"Haha, just come, we are no longer afraid of them."

"We've never been afraid. You were the one who was afraid in the first two games, no wonder you were so weak."

In the Knicks locker room, the atmosphere is completely different from the previous game.

Withstood the pressure and defeated the opponent in two overtimes in the last game, which increased the players' self-confidence. Now the Knicks have the confidence to defeat the Heat and become stronger.

(End of this chapter)