The next day, most of the media was criticizing the Suns.
From Barkley to head coach Paul Westphal, from Wang Tiejun to Ceballos who only scored three points, they criticized each one.
The local media was still lenient. The media in Phoenix and Arizona were not as ruthless as the New York media and did not criticize the players too much.
However, the local media did not let go of the coaching staff, directly accusing the coaching staff of failing to adjust tactics in time, leaving Wang Tiejun directly exposed to the Lakers' outside impact.
Amid media criticism, the Suns got on a plane to Los Angeles.
During dinner, Danny Ainge sat next to Wang Tiejun and asked in a low voice: "Old K, are you not going to date Miss Julia Roberts tonight?"
Lao Wang was startled and said: "Why are you asking her? It's the playoffs now, I can't waste my energy on her, it's not cost-effective."
"Pfft!"
Everyone laughed and started joking.
In fact, he and Roberts now only send text messages to greet each other occasionally, and they are not in a relationship between boyfriend and girlfriend. If they are too far apart and do not see each other for a period of time, the close relationship will fade away.
In the evening, the Suns coaching staff gathered together again to discuss tactics for the G3 game.
They didn't sleep much last night, and they all had dark circles under their eyes. They had to stay up tonight, otherwise how could they explain to Colangelo?
That night, Mosaic defeated the Clippers in the away game, leading by a big score of 2 to 1, and got the match point.
After a sluggish game, the big dream Olajuwon once again played a crazy state, making 14 of 20 shots, with a shooting percentage of 70%, and once again sent 4 big blocks, and scored 32 points and 12 rebounds.
There was only one game in the West, and there was only one game in the East. The Hornets defeated the Celtics, losing two games in a row, leading by a big score of 2 to 1, and gained match point.
Mourning's performance was average, with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 3 fouls and 5 fouls. As a rookie, he also got into trouble with fouls and played only 31 minutes in bits and pieces.
No. 4, match day, four games in total.
In the West, the G3 battle between the Suns and the Lakers, and the G3 battle between the Jazz and the SuperSonics.
In the Eastern Conference, the G3 battle between the Bulls and the Hawks, and the G3 battle between the Knicks and the Pacers.
At eight o'clock, at the Great Western Forum Arena, the two teams announced their starting lineups.
Suns: Wang Tiejun, Barkley, Ceballos, Dan Marley, Kevin Johnson
Lakers: Divac, Elden Campbell, AC Green, Byron Scott, Sedara Slater
The atmosphere at the Great Western Forum Arena was very hot, the scene was star-studded, and some big-name Hollywood stars could be seen everywhere, including Julia Roberts.
"Julia, are you and Lao K still dating?" A reporter came forward to interview.
"Well, it seems like we haven't started yet." Roberts smiled.
"Will you support the Lakers or the Suns today?" the reporter asked again.
"Personally, I support Old K, and as a team, I will support the Lakers. I am a Lakers fan." Roberts smiled.
…
In the visiting team's locker room, head coach Paul Westphal was arranging tactics and said: "That's it, Ceballos, your main task tonight is to protect the opponent when he attacks Old K. You are defending.
If you want to shrink, just stay by Old K's side."
"Understood." Ceballos said with a grimace.
Barkley can't do the hard work, so he, the starting small forward, has to do it.
The coaching staff thought over and over again and came up with this solution.
Of course, the main problem is Lao Wang himself, try to commit as few fouls as possible and don't touch your feet randomly.
At 8:15, the starting lineup begins.
"Hey, Julia."
"Hey, old K."
After Wang Tiejun came out, he went straight to Roberts on the sidelines. After chatting for a few words, he went to warm up.
At half past eight, the game officially started.
Jump ball, the Lakers attack first.
Having won the last game, Divac was full of confidence today. As soon as he reached the low post on the left wing, he asked for the ball from the top of the arc.
Although Wang Tiejun committed six fouls in the last game, and although the coaching staff asked him to commit as few fouls as possible, he still adopted a tough defense and directly pushed him with his chest.
The ball was passed down, and before Divac caught the ball, he suddenly made a strong backstroke and completed the effort without moving his feet.
"Crack!"
Relying on the strength of his upper body, Divac leaned his upper body forward slightly, made a mistake in catching the ball, and the ball's tentacles popped out of the baseline.
The base referee immediately made a gesture to switch offense and defense, turned his hands, and then pointed with his right hand towards the Suns' frontcourt.
"He pushed me!" Divac shouted angrily.
No one paid attention to him. The referee saw it clearly. He didn't move his hands or feet, he only used his chest to squeeze. This was a 100% normal confrontation.
Sun attack.
In the low position on the left wing, Wang Tiejun holds the ball high with his right hand, facing upward, carrying Divac with his left elbow, and pressing his opponent with his left shoulder.
The next moment, with his left foot as a support, he suddenly stepped forward with his right foot, placed one foot on the left waist line of the paint area, and made a breakthrough from the top.
Divac quickly retreated half a step, but then he suddenly retracted his right foot and made a hook shot.
Divac rushed forward again, but at this time he took out his right foot again.
However, this time it was not fake, but real. At the same time, he launched the Iron Mountain Back Strike. When Divac pounced on him, his left shoulder and chest hit his opponent's left shoulder.
He moved, retracted and moved, three technical movements, but the rhythm of his movements was actually not very fast. Divac reacted and did not lose his center of gravity.
However, the last shot was very timely, knocking the forward moving center of gravity. Divac fell directly to the floor, and he stepped into the paint area.
Campbell made up the defense and took off to block the shot. He took off in front of the former, grabbed the ball with his right hand and hit the basket through the former.
"Bang!"
As the basket trembled, the referee's whistle sounded.
"Oh, Divac didn't get up, he seems to have sprained his left foot." Dot shouted in the TNT live broadcast booth.
"It seems that he was hit on his left shoulder and lost his balance. His right foot left the floor. His body twisted when he fell. His left foot, which was used as a supporting foot, was sprained. He probably sprained his left ankle joint." Letem said.
Analyze.
The two analyzed their opponents, Divac was helped down, and the Lakers lost their main center in the opening game.
"Old K, well done!"
Buckley ran over excitedly and shouted.
"Leave it to me. You can just watch the show. You're not very efficient anyway." Lao Wang assured, patting his chest.
"Get out!" Gu Lan
Buckley's face turned black with anger.
The next extra free throw hit gave the Suns a three-point lead.
The Lakers replaced superstar James Worthy at the three position, AC Green played the four position, and Lao Wang faced off against Eldon Campbell.
Campbell may actually be a little short of 100 kilograms. Standing in front of him is like a bean sprout, but his style is different. People still have a way to deal with him, and that is to pull directly outward.
As a center with a height of 211 centimeters, Campbell has a long shooting range. Although he does not have three-pointers, his shooting percentage from far two-pointers reached 40%, 36% from mid-range two-pointers, and 42% from near-two-pointers. He is a threat no matter where he runs.
He released one at the beginning, but Campbell hit a long two-pointer. Then he didn't dare to release it and had to follow out.
If you follow him out, he won't be able to come back.
Similarly, AC Green also has a long-range shot, and his two-point shooting rate is as high as 44%. When he pulls out, Barkley has to follow.
In this way, the Suns' two big insiders were pulled out on the defensive end, and the penalty area was empty. The Lakers' outside line protruded without any scruples.
Fortunately, the Suns' own offense was very good. The Lakers could not guard against either Barkley's big butt or Wang Tiejun's low post offense.
In addition, the Lakers' inside line is widened, so they can't foul Wang Tiejun, which is worry-free.
At the 6th minute of the first quarter, at 15:14, the Suns were only leading by 1 point and called a timeout.
Head coach Paul Westphal rearranged the defensive tactics and asked Barkley and Wang Tiejun not to follow too far and let their opponents go appropriately. Neither AC Green nor Campbell are scoring madmen and do not have explosive scoring ability.
Just maintain appropriate defensive pressure and reduce their shooting percentage. The main defense is still in the penalty area.
The timeout ended and the Suns executed the game according to tactics.
Barkley made a shot and returned to the defensive end. Wang Tiejun let Campbell go for two steps.
He was only about 1.2 meters in one step and 2.5 meters in two steps. He was just outside the left waist of the paint area, staring at the ball handler at the top of the arc.
At this time, the ball was passed to Campbell. He immediately pounced on it, took a big step out, and shortened the distance between the two to 1.2 meters. With an outstretched arm, he was already within reach of Campbell.
He landed with one step and Campbell just caught the ball.
As an ordinary main player, Campbell's ability to catch and shoot was average. He had to adjust after catching the ball. After he adjusted, Wang Tiejun took a small step again, stretched out his long arm, and slapped him hard.
"Crack!"
There was a loud slap and the ball was knocked away.
"ah!"
Campbell was in pain and shook his hand repeatedly, feeling that several of his fingers were severed by this slap.
The whistle didn't sound, the ball was grabbed by Wang Tiejun, and the Suns immediately switched from defense to offense.
"Thugs, thugs!"
Campbell jumped up in anxiety and kept making slapstick movements towards the referee.
But the referee ignored him. He didn't see Wang Tiejun hit Campbell's arm. As for the hit on the hand, there was no problem. The part where the hand was in contact with the ball was originally part of the ball.
The Suns went on a fast break and Dan Malley hit a layup.
The Lakers attacked, opened up the inside, and point guard Cedar Slater broke through with the ball.
"Crack!"
Barkley quickly returned to defense and blocked the shot. The ball was caught by Wang Tiejun who returned to defense.
Returning to the offensive end, he carried Campbell and easily entered the basket.
Campbell went around and was pushed away. At the top of the arc, he dropped the ball and AC Green immediately double-teamed the basket.
"drink!"
He let out a low roar and immediately hit him from left to right after catching the ball.
"Bang bang!"
Two 100-kilogram defenders were knocked over one after another and fell to the basket.
"Bang!"
Amid the violent sound of the basket exploding, the bustling Great Western Forum suddenly fell silent.
"The difference between the tonnage and strength is too big. The Lakers have no energy on the defensive end and cannot suppress this behemoth at the basket."
During the TNT live broadcast, Dot shook his head and said.
"At least we need a strong center to defend Old K and be able to withstand him, and another interior lineman with excellent mobility to help defend against double teams, so that we can guard against Old K. Now Campbell and AC Green can't stop Old K from getting close to the basket at all.
It can't be suppressed by baskets or double-teams, just like two small hunting dogs biting an elephant, is it useful?" Letem also shook his head.
Just as he said, Wang Tiejun then frequently entered the basket to hit hard, and then twice in a row, double-teaming was useless.
Once he gets into the basket and catches the ball, he doesn't need the space to move like Dameng. He just relies on playing where he is. He can rely on playing without moving both feet. It's better if he can move one foot.
He relies on his body posture for hitting, plus his big hands to smash the ball, and his ability to protect the ball is very strong. It is very difficult for the Lakers to knock off his ball.
In the end, the Lakers were forced to use foul tactics.
After solving the defensive problem, Wang Tiejun and Barkley played strong and efficient offense in the low post, and the Suns took control of the game. When the Lakers lost Divac, they smoothly won the G3 game, 84:107, with one game.
A big win and a match point.
Barkley played 35 minutes, making 11 of 19 shots, a shooting percentage of 57.8%, and 4 of 7 free throws. He scored 26 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls.
Wang Tiejun only played 31 minutes, making 7 of 12 shots, a shooting percentage of 58.3%, and 5 of 9 free throws. He scored 19 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls.
Although he only took 12 shots, the number of times he actually took the ball to attack was not much less than that of Barkley, and he was fouled in all of them.
"Old K played a beautiful game. As a rookie, his performance in the playoffs was very good." Dort said at the TNT live broadcast.
Dort smiled and said: "The inside combination of Barkley and Old K, just in terms of offensive ability, should be the best in the league. However, the Lakers lost Divac, and the inside offense is not good at all, and there is no comparison."
Leitem smiled and said: "The Suns are now leading 2-1 and have the match point. The next game is very critical for the Lakers. If they lose, the series will be over."
Dort said: "Divac is still very important. His defense can suppress Old K to a certain extent. If he had not been injured today, Old K would not have played such a great game. At the same time, his offensive ability is also
Better than Campbell and Green, the Lakers' scoring ability will also improve.
I think if he is not seriously injured, he will play in the G4 game. If the Suns want to beat the Lakers, they have to be careful not to have a situation like the G2 game."
"Old K, with a 75% shooting rate, what made you perform so efficiently?" When he was off the court, a reporter from TNT approached Wang Tiejun.
"It's them that stimulate me."
Lao Wang pointed to the two red swellings on his face and some scratches on his arms, and said: "They made too many small moves, but I used my offense to tell them that it was useless, and we will deal with them in the next game.
.Their desperate struggle just adds a little bit of viewership to our game, which makes it look intense."
"Pfft!"
The reporter couldn't help laughing.
Back in the locker room, after getting the match point, the atmosphere was very lively. Barkley started walking around again, chatting with this person and interacting with that person.
"Charles, I think it would be easier for you to give us some bonuses to boost our morale," Lao Wang shouted.
"Shut up, do you want me to go bankrupt?" Buckley scolded with a smile.