Chapter 171: Narrow Victory(1/2)
The timeout ends and the strongest lineups from both sides return to the court.
There are only two minutes left. No matter how tired you are, you can grit your teeth and persevere.
The Celtics attacked first and the ball went to Ray Allen.
Kobe thought Ray Allen could shoot three-pointers, so he carefully watched Ray Allen take off.
What he never expected was that Ray Allen did the opposite and suddenly started a breakthrough.
Kobe was a little slower, Ray Allen passed by, took off, and threw.
Kobe chased him from behind, jumped up, and blocked the shot, but unfortunately he failed.
The ball went in.
96 to 99, the point difference narrowed to 3 points, a matter of one ball.
Celtics fans jumped up and cheered, and the Boston TV commentator even shouted Ray Allen's name during the show, as if they were not the ones scolding Ray Allen a few days ago.
In the transition between offense and defense, Zhang Zhiyuan and Odom played pick-and-roll, but the effect was not good.
Garnett doesn't suffer much when defending Zhang Zhiyuan, and Pierce doesn't suffer much when defending Odom.
The Celtics did not choose to double-team Zhang Zhiyuan, and the Lakers' plan did not succeed.
The ball was still in Zhang Zhiyuan's hands, but he did not break through immediately, so the Celtics changed defense again, and the Lakers wasted seven or eight seconds.
But the problem is not big. Zhang Zhiyuan started and relied on his personal ability to make breakthroughs.
Pierce's defense is very good, but that doesn't mean he can completely defend it.
Generally speaking, the offensive team has the initiative and always has a slight advantage against the defender.
Zhang Zhiyuan changed direction, and Pierce was forced to adjust. As a result, Zhang Zhiyuan changed direction again, but this time it was a fake move. Pierce was fooled, and Zhang Zhiyuan completed the pass.
Pierce turned around and caught up with him, taking big steps, but Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly stopped and retreated. Now Pierce really couldn't adjust.
Then Zhang Zhiyuan jumped and took action.
Although no one interfered, this shot was quite difficult, mainly because Zhang Zhiyuan's posture was not standard and he looked like he was about to fall.
He threw the ball toward the basket in a very weird posture, and the fans didn't like it very much.
However, Zhang Zhiyuan's shooting touch worked.
The ball went in.
96 to 101.
"What a risk."
Zhang Li said with Yu Ji's heart.
"Persistence, persistence is victory."
Sun Zhengping.
People who support Zhang Zhiyuan are very nervous, and people who don't support Zhang Zhiyuan are even more nervous. After all, the Celtics are currently lagging behind.
The Celtics attacked, and Pierce struck at the critical moment.
Bynum squeezed Perkins tightly to prevent him from getting close to the basket.
Garnett rushed to the basket, but Odom, who was already standing under the basket, had the position advantage and jumped first, holding the basketball in his arms.
Garnett slapped the ball and tried to steal it.
Odom avoided it and passed the ball to Kobe.
Rondo shouted to retreat. He was afraid that his teammates would continue to press and the Lakers would have a chance to counterattack quickly.
Garnett and others retreated quickly. The Lakers had no fast break and continued to grind out their position.
They did try some tactics, but the effect was not obvious.
After a few twists and turns, it finally became Zhang Zhiyuan's strong attack.
Zhang Zhiyuan made a strong three-point shot, but Pierce interfered by taking off and the ball missed.
The basketball bounced to the outside, and Perkins, Bynum and others could only stare. At the critical moment, Kobe grabbed an offensive rebound from the crowd.
Rondo quickly pressed the ball and acted very roughly, completely ignoring the risk of fouling.
Rondo didn't lose his mind, he was very clear-headed at this time and knew that he was running out of time.
If the Lakers are allowed to take possession of the ball again and it takes more than ten seconds, the Celtics will have no chance.
Instead of doing that, it's better to take a gamble.
If the steal is successful, he will be the hero of the team. Even if a foul is called and Kobe is sent to the free throw line, they will not lose. The situation is so bad anyway.
The whistle blew and the referee called Rondo a foul.
This is the home court of the Lakers.
Rondo cursed and acted like the referee had wronged him.
Kobe stepped to the free throw line and made two steady free throws.
96 to 103, the Lakers lead by 7 points, with 36 seconds left in the game, and the Celtics only have a theoretical chance.
During the Celtics' fast break, Ray Allen was double-teamed by Kobe Bryant and Zhang Zhiyuan.
When the ball was in Pierce's hands, Zhang Zhiyuan didn't care at all. Pierce let him shoot if he wanted to.
Pierce didn't hesitate and took a three-pointer.
His three-point shooting is actually not bad either.
However, he seemed to be lacking some luck today.
The ball missed, and Garnett tried to grab an offensive rebound.
Bynum and Odom worked together to protect the rebound and immediately passed it to Zhang Zhiyuan, fearing they would be fouled.
Free throws at this time put a lot of psychological pressure on the players, and Odom didn't want to bear this pressure.
When the ball came into Zhang Zhiyuan's hands, he patted the basketball without trying to escape the opponent's foul.
Anyway, free throws are like giving away points to him, so why not do it.
Rondo was very angry when he saw his calm look. In anger, he took advantage of the foul opportunity and pushed Zhang Zhiyuan down.
After the push, he naively went to grab the ball on the floor, seemingly thinking that he would be able to make a difference if he grabbed the ball.
This act of ignoring the referee made the referee angry, and directly called Rondo a first-level flagrant foul.
There is nothing wrong with this call. After all, Rondo's foul just now was completely directed at someone.
However, because the force was not fierce enough and Zhang Zhiyuan's fall was not severe enough, it gave people the feeling of "not a criminal".
Rivers screamed and protested on the sidelines, acting as if they were being treated unfairly.
In fact, even if the referee didn't punish the foul, the Celtics would have no chance in this game.
The referee ignored Rivers and insisted on the original decision.
Zhang Zhiyuan stepped to the free throw line and made both free throws, and the ball still belonged to the Lakers.
At this point, the game is over.
The Celtics didn't foul again, and Kobe didn't take any more shots while patting the basketball.
At the end of the game, 96 to 105, the Lakers won by 9 points.
In terms of statistics, Ray Allen scored the highest score on the team, making 10 of 18 shots, 5 of 10 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, and scored 29 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Garnett made 8 of 17 shots and had 19 points and 10 rebounds including free throws.
Pierce performed poorly, making 7 of 19 shots and scoring 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Rondo made 5 of 12 shots and scored 12 points.
Perkins made 1 of 2 shots and scored 2 points and 11 rebounds.
Posey had 12 points, Cassel had 4 points, and Bowie had 2 points.
Tony Allen and House did not score, and P.J. Brown and Glen Davis did not play.
For the Lakers, Zhang Zhiyuan scored the highest score on the team. He made 10 of 19 shots, 5 of 11 three-pointers, and 7 of 7 free throws. He scored 32 points, 1 rebound, 8 assists, and 2 steals.
Chinese fans nicknamed him ‘Zhang Molan’.
Kobe made 10 of 22 shots, 3 of 7 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws. He scored 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Kobe was very depressed when his score was lower than Zhang Zhiyuan. What was even more frustrating was that Ray Allen, who was directly opposite him, performed well and his defense may also be questioned.
Odom diligently cut down his standard number, 147.
Bynum had 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Fisher had 6 points and 5 assists.
Ariza scored 9 points, Farmar 4 points, Hayes 4 points, Kwame Brown and Walton did not score, and Turiaf and Mihm did not play.
To be continued...