Five years ago, Kobe would have responded to Chen Yan with a difficult superstar shot, but now he is more mature and plays smarter. Kobe quickly discerned the weaknesses of the Suns.
Lakers offensive possession.
It's still the triangle offense, it's still the inside.
Just when everyone thought the Lakers were going to repeat the offensive pattern from the previous round, Kobe suddenly went down without the ball.
Chen Yan knew that Kobe was capable of moving without the ball, so he was always nervous. When Kobe moved, he quickly followed up.
Kobe did not cut directly to the basket, but made a small circle to the right.
"Bang!"
The next second, the sound of the collision of muscles sounded in the sky above Staples, and Chen Yan sideways hit James Posey's chest.
Novak's defense change was a step slower, and Kobe used James Posey's screen to catch the ball and jump to the basket!
DeAndre Jordan raised his arms high under the basket. He just wanted to slightly interfere with Kobe, but Kobe did not slow down and hit DeAndre Jordan directly with a posture of carrying an explosive bag!
Obviously, he was going for Jordan this time!
After the confrontation, Kobe tossed the ball into the air.
"Beep beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded!
Jordan held his head in his hands and ran to the referee to explain frantically. The referee closed his eyes and shook his finger, indicating that it was time for him to leave the game.
DeAndre Jordan just got his sixth foul of the game in a daze and was ejected.
Kobe high-fived his teammates and then stood at the free throw line.
"Whoa!"
"Whoa!"
Two free throws were made steadily.
109 to 103.
In the next two and a half minutes, the Lakers launched an 8-1 offensive climax, taking the lead in one fell swoop.
After DeAndre Jordan came off the court, the Suns' defense had a big problem. The most obvious one was their lack of height in the paint. As long as Garnett and Camby were in position in the paint and played high, they could almost hit each other accurately.
D'Antoni was forced to pause.
After the timeout, he replaced Matt Barnes to increase the strength of the lineup. At the same time, he also removed Novak and replaced him with Raja Bell.
Novak's return to the bench was caused by the chain reaction of Jordan's dismissal. Jordan's ejection caused the Suns' rim protection to drop by a notch. You must know that against the Lakers' inside line, there is no big man who can steal and carry it.
It's very passive. If a big colander like Novak is left on the court for a long time at this time, the Suns' defense will collapse in an instant.
"The Suns have been in a scoring drought during this period, and the pressure on the defensive end has spread to the offensive end. In two and a half minutes, they only relied on Chen Yan's free throws to score 1 point. During this period, the Suns had difficulty taking care of both ends, which directly caused them to be exhausted on the court.
, can’t find my own rhythm of the game.”
When Yang Yi was busy analyzing, Zhang Lili suddenly said from the side: "You have to give the ball to Chen Yan and let him shoot and play in singles!"
Yang Yi: "..."
He directly made Zhang Liang speechless. Zhang Liang's commentary often likes to incorporate personal emotions, which is why he often utters "classic quotes". A strict commentator does not have the effect of his program.
After the timeout, the five players on the Suns field are Nash, Chen Yan, Raja Bell, Diaw and Barnes.
Except for Nash, this lineup can guard the other four players. It can be regarded as the most balanced lineup that the Suns can currently produce.
Before going on the court, D'Antoni repeatedly emphasized the success rate. If the Suns cannot stabilize during this period, the game may be taken away by the Lakers.
Nash controlled the ball past halftime, the Lakers were in full swing, and the home fans shouted "defend".
Nash waved to Diaw from the top of the arc to find a cover. Diaw blocked Fisher. Nash accelerated and tried to move in. The more the situation cannot be opened, the more breakthroughs must be made. Otherwise, if all five people stand still, the scene will be like a pool of stagnant water.
.
As soon as Nash entered the three-point line, Garnett switched defense.
Lao Na didn't cut in in the first step, and after a pullback, he retreated to the three-point line.
At this time, Nash has two options, one is to shoot a cold arrow from outside the three-point line, and the other is to reorganize.
Nash chose the latter. He was very calm at this time and knew his shooting percentage in the final quarter.
Fisher stood in front of Nash again, Diaw came up to cover him again, and Nash took advantage of the situation and walked to the left.
This breakthrough paid off. James Posey on the wing took a step back, and Nash distributed the ball in time to find Chen Yan.
After receiving the ball, Chen Yan made a shooting motion, and James Posey immediately pounced on it.
Chen Yan raised the ball above his head and grabbed it with one hand. At the same time, he lightly touched his toes and made a realistic fake move that directly knocked James Posey away!
Chen Yan dropped the ball with his right hand and hit the basket. Garnett moved two steps laterally and stood in front of Chen Yan. His defensive coverage was very large.
Garnett is a player who can truly defend from position 1 to position 5. He is tall and flexible enough, and is a nightmare for many players.
However, this flexibility is relative. In front of Chen Yan, his flexibility turned into a disadvantage.
The moment Garnett was covering the defense, Chen Yan pushed his right foot on the ground and floated the ball with his right hand. Just as Garnett's center of gravity shifted slightly, Chen Yan immediately connected in front of his body and made a crossover!
Chen Yan's center of gravity was so exaggerated that his right shoulder was almost touching the ground, a bit like a cornering scene in a motorcycle race.
After Garnett lost his defensive position, his right hand danced subconsciously and hit Chen Yan's right arm.
"pie~"
The sound was so clear that even the stands on the second floor could hear it.
The referee's whistle sounded the next second, and Garnett raised his hand consciously.
The number of accumulated fouls has not yet expired, and the Suns serve from the sideline.
Chen Yan looked up at the big screen, saw that Garnett had committed four fouls, and came up with a plan.
Chen Yan walked up to Nash and said, "Steve, later we will try to create mismatches to hit Garnett, make him foul, and knock him down."
Nash nodded, and he also had the same idea after seeing Garnett commit four fouls.
Although the NBA requires 6 fouls before sending off a penalty, coaches usually let players off the court for a rest after 5 fouls, especially core players. As long as Garnett comes off the court, the pressure on the Suns' interior will be greatly reduced.
The Suns served the ball from the sideline, and Nash stepped out to catch the ball.
Nash made a move and found Chen Yan in a cross pass. He did not choose to switch defenses to beat Garnett. His severely reduced physical strength did not allow him to do so.
Chen Yan waved his hand to summon Diaw. After Diaw blocked James Posey, the Lakers adopted a defense switching strategy.
Chen Yan immediately launched an attack on Garnett. If he hesitated at this time, the Lakers' attack would probably come.
Chen Yan dribbled the ball towards Garnett. As an offensive player, Chen Yan acted more like a defender. As soon as he came face to face with Garnett, he wanted to get close to him.
Chen Yan's intention was so obvious that Garnett noticed it. An ordinary player would have backed away, preferring to let Chen Yan break through or give him space to shoot rather than commit a foul in vain. But Garnett is experienced and he
Not only did he not retreat, but he also exerted force to meet him. Of course, this kind of force was exerted secretly.
Garnett knows that this is the home court of the Lakers, his own territory, and the game has reached an intense stage. The referee will not call a confrontation of this level.
Garnett was right. The referee's whistle did not sound after the two collided. Fortunately, Chen Yan had excellent core strength and tightened his body in time after the confrontation.
While protecting the ball, Chen Yan used his strength to take a step laterally. This step was not big enough, and Chen Yan's purpose was not to create shooting space for himself.
Garnett raised his right hand and took a step forward, preparing to interfere with Chen Yan. Chen Yan did not dodge at all and raised his shooting hand straight up.
Chen Yan did not feel that Garnett was too close to him. On the contrary, he hoped that Garnett could be closer.
Chen Yan jumped up with the ball in both hands, leaned forward slightly, aimed at Garnett's unraised left arm and hit it.
Garnett's left arm was forced to hook Chen Yan's hands.
"ah!!!"
Chen Yan shouted and threw the ball into the air with all his strength.
The ball dropped and the referee's whistle sounded.
It is true that Chen Yan took the initiative to seek a foul on this ball, but it is also true that Garnett beat him. Garnett never expected that Chen Yan would sing this to him.
After receiving the foul, Garnett kept protesting to the referee, saying that Chen Yan was deliberately looking for a foul. The referee shook his head to maintain the original decision.
"Garnett got fouled in two consecutive rounds, and the cumulative number of fouls reached five. Will this be the turning point of this game?" Yang Yi said in a mysterious manner.
"Garnett did commit a foul on this ball. He pressed his hand firmly on Chen Yan's arm. There was no problem with the referee's decision." Zhang Liji said.
Chen Yan stood on the free throw line and made two free throws.
112 to 111, the Suns took the lead again.
During the free throw interval, Phil Jackson temporarily replaced Garnett, who had committed five fouls.
Garnett sat on the bench angrily. He couldn't accept being substituted in this way during the heat of the game.
After knocking out Garnett, Nash and Chen Yan blinked at each other. For the Suns, this was a kind of retaliation.
The Lakers made an offensive mistake in the next round. The new player Powell passed the ball with his back and forgot to observe. The ball was directly knocked away by Nash who came up from the blind side.
Nash continued to lead the attack and immediately advanced towards the frontcourt. Fisher stayed firmly beside Nash. Fisher's bad thing was his lateral movement, but his straight-line acceleration was not bad.
Nash reached the free throw line and hit the ball back.
As soon as Fisher turned around, Chen Yan flew in front of him.
"Boom!"
"Beep!"
Chen Yan followed up with a dunk and caused a blocking foul on Fisher.
twenty one!
When Chen Yan stood on the free throw line, the audience burst into boos. Lakers fans felt that Chen Yan was going to let the team swallow the bitter pill of failure with another personal performance.
After the extra free throw, the score difference came to 4 points.
Just when the Lakers were about to fall into despair, the man suddenly broke out!
Kobe's shooting didn't feel good throughout the game, but in the next three rounds he hit three goals in a row like a miracle, including a three-pointer!
The score difference between the two sides was stalemate again. Two minutes later, Garnett was sent back to the court. Phil Jackson was ready to give the Suns the last shot, but Garnett, who returned to the court, lost his fiery state.
In such a general environment, the two teams began the final decisive battle.
...
...
The last 9.7 seconds.
122 to 123, the Lakers lead by one point and the Suns have the ball.
D'Antoni used up the team's last timeout. When D'Antoni was arranging tactics, the camera gave a shot of the Suns bench.
The camera swept over the Suns bench and focused on Chen Yan. Not to mention the Lakers players, even the photographer knew that the last ball must be played by Chen Yan.
Chen Yan has already scored 48 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in this game. Whether he hits a two-pointer or a three-pointer, he will once again score 50 at Staples Center.
The timeout ended, and D'Antoni sent out Nash, Chen Yan, Novak, Azubuike and Barnes at the last moment.
They are all players with three-point ability. D'Antoni cannot play overtime with the Lakers at Staples Center.
Barnes stood on the sideline to serve. Camby used his hands and feet to try to delay the release of the Suns sideline ball. However, Barnes still successfully sent the ball. Chen Yan received the ball two steps beyond the top of the arc.
The stopwatch started running the moment I caught the ball.
The Lakers did not adopt a double-teaming tactic at the last moment, which was too risky. Kobe was responsible for guarding Chen Yan.
With 8 seconds left in the attack time, Chen Yan started a breakthrough!
Kobe fought hard, and the referee would definitely not call him a foul at this time.
Mike Breen stared at the situation on the court and made a real-time broadcast: "Chen suddenly stopped and pulled back at a 45-degree angle on the right side. Kobe did not lose his position. Let's see how Chen handles it. He switched to his left hand and started to break through!"
James Posey at the top of the arc has already moved in, Fisher on the wing has also been covered, and Camby inside is also keeping an eye on Chen Yan, ready to attack at any time.
Like a dancing dancer, Chen Yan rushed inside and attracted the attention of four defenders before turning around and heading outside for a point.
"Passed!!!" Yang Yi and Zhang Lili shouted in unison.
Chen Yan chose to distribute the ball at the last moment and found Novak who was absolutely open!
Usually there are two situations when distributing the ball at the last minute, one is a wonderful pass and the other is a blame-shifting. Chen Yan obviously belongs to the former. He found a teammate with a better shot.
The essential difference between a pass and passing the blame is whether you can use your own ability to attract double-teams and create good opportunities for your teammates. No one will ever say that Jordan's assist in the last game of the Finals and Cole's assist in the finals was a passing blame, but some players often pass the blame because of passing the ball.
Being criticized by fans.
Novak took aim at the frame and James Posey flew to block the shot, but it was of no use as he was too far away from Novak.
Novak shoots in a standard shooting posture, his hand is very stable!
The Suns bench players opened their arms in advance.
"Whoa!"
The basketball hits the net!
The score was rewritten to 125 to 123.
There was only the last 1.1 seconds left on the timer, and the Lakers did not take a timeout. After receiving the ball in the backcourt, Kobe threw it hard and the basketball hit the backboard and popped out.
"beep!!!"
The final whistle blows and the game is over!
Staple said that the center fell into a dead silence, and just now they were killed by an unknown little person.
Even Novak himself couldn't believe it, he actually killed the Lakers one second ago!
But this is the fact that just happened. Novak proved with his actions that little people can become heroes one day!