NBA Building Cardinals

Chapter 279 280. Ruthless, So Cruel (67)

After the opening, Pierce faced his old opponent Wallace and played very resolutely.

And on the offensive end, actively looking for physical confrontation, no longer blindly relying on jump shots to finish as in the previous games.

This also made Wallace encounter foul trouble in the first quarter.

Seeing that Wallace was troubled by fouls on the field, Liu Rui could only let Ariza defend Pierce, thus releasing Wallace.

Facing Trevor Ariza, Pierce played even more resolutely in this game.

It may also be because the Celtics were defeated by the Bobcats for three consecutive games, so the news from the outside world is very unfavorable to the Celtics.

As the star of the Celtics, Pierce has become the object of criticism.

A leading star ranked third in the Eastern Conference, but he couldn't lead the team to win. He was defeated by the sixth Bobcats in the Eastern Conference for three consecutive games, and was very likely to be swept.

The dragon of the regular season, the bug of the playoffs, and even the name of the data brush have all come to Pierce.

This made Pierce feel that it was unbearable. Before this game, Pierce went crazy and carried out crazy extra training.

So at the beginning of this game, facing Wallace, Pierce directly launched his own sharp attack.

The Bobcats' defensive strategy for Pierce has always been to refuse to help defend and insist on one-on-one defense.

Facing the determined Pierce, Wallace and Ariza encountered some troubles one after another. At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats played at home with:

22:24
Two points behind the Celtics.

And this is the entire round of the series, the Celtics for the first time at the end of a single quarter, leading the Bobcats.

This made the head coach of the Celtics, Rivers, from the original dull eyes, as if there was a hint of aura in the eyes again.

But after returning from the second half, the appearance of the substitute lineup gave the Celtics another heavy blow.

Facing Pierce's end, even with Ricky Davis maintaining the offense on the field, under the offensive of Stoudemire and Divac.

The Celtics' weak lead was quickly overtaken by the Bobcats again.

Seeing that the score on the court was overtaken again, Pierce, who had only rested for 2 minutes off the court, voluntarily asked to be replaced on the court.

Seeing Pierce's persistence, Rivers also chose to exchange Pierce back on the court.

Faced with a series of operations by the Celtics, Liu Rui, who was sitting off the court, of course noticed it, but he didn't make any adjustments on the court.

After the end of the first quarter, Pierce, who only rested for 2 minutes, continued to carry the banner of the team's offense.

Helping the Celtics, has been struggling to bite the score.

With the Bobcats' main lineup gradually returning to the field, the duel between the two teams showed a fierce battle for the first time.

At the end of the half, with Pierce's excellent performance in the half, the Celtics played away with:

47:47
It was a tie with the Bobcats.

And this score is also the first time in this round of the series that the gap between the Celtics and the Bobcats is so small.

So at halftime, the fans who supported the Celtics saw hope again.

And head coach Rivers seems to have gradually regained some fighting spirit.

Compared with the emotional fluctuations on the Celtic side, Liu Rui appeared calmer.

After all, when the team is at the moment of being eliminated, it is reasonable to burst out its potential.

But it is difficult for players to maintain this offensive efficiency throughout the game.

Especially Pierce, a player who uses mid-range jumpers as his main offensive method.

And throughout the first half, Pierce only rested for more than two minutes.

This is also a big test for Pierce's physical strength.

As the game went on, Pierce would only get more tired.

Even if he can still score goals on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, he will definitely become a weak link on the field.

After returning from the second half, the two sides continued to fight.

Pierce still took the initiative to take on the team's offensive task, and Liu Rui still did not choose to help defend, but insisted on letting Wallace play against him one-on-one.

Although Pierce still played very resolutely after returning in the second half, his offensive efficiency has obviously declined according to the first half.

This is the impact of physical fitness.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats succeeded at home with:
71:67
Overtook the Celtics by 4 points.

At halftime, the score at halftime gave the Celtics fans great hope, but with the end of the three quarters, the Celtics once again became the trailing side.

It also made fans who supported the Celtics more anxious.

After all, the greater the expectations one puts in, the greater the final disappointment.

Back in the fourth quarter, the Celtics, who were still hoping for a miracle, did not expect a miracle. Instead, they ushered in the sharp offensive firepower of the Bobcats.

In the first three quarters, Liu Rui still rotated as usual, and did not mess up his position because of Pierce's outbreak.

So after coming back in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats players have been greatly supplemented in terms of physical strength.

Facing Pierce, who had begun to tire and his feet were weak, the Bobcats showed no mercy and played a wave of climax directly.

While stopping the Celtics, it also seemed to shatter Rivers' last hope.

After returning from the timeout, Pierce, who was exhausted physically, missed several jump shots in the offense one after another.

The Bobcats took this opportunity to continue their offensive strength.

With the steady performance of the Bobcats, at the end of the game, the Bobcats played at home with:
99:86
Beat the Celtics by 13 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Celtics did not leave the slightest thought, and directly crushed them ruthlessly.

However, in this game, and also in this round of the series, the Bobcats did not score more than [-] points in the first game.

It is also enough to see that the Celtics have invested in this game.

But in the face of the absolute gap, the Celtics finally had to accept the fact that they were defeated and swept away.

The end of this round of the series also allowed the Bobcats to rewrite the total score to 4:0.

And the Bobcats became the first team to sweep their opponents ahead of schedule this season.

This shocked the fans watching the game, as well as the broadcast media.

Although for such a result, people have thought about it many times before the game.

But when this result was presented in front of people's eyes, it still shocked too many people.

Before the playoffs began, no one thought the Bobcats could make a difference in the playoffs.

And the Bobcats did use their own actions to give a strong response to the outside world, and at this time, they became the first team to sweep their opponents 4:0 and advance ahead of schedule among all the playoff teams this season.
You know, before the start of the playoffs, everyone believed that the teams most likely to sweep the team 4:0 to advance were the Suns, Spurs, Heat, and Pistons.

So at this time, the early qualifying of the Bobcats is even more eye-catching...

(End of this chapter)