novelraw Chapter 389 An Unexpected Opponent!
Chapter 389 An Unexpected Opponent!
75: 76!
The Pacers went on a crazy 10-2 run in the last two minutes, sweeping away their previous offensive inefficiency and missed shots, and turning the tide of the game to win!
The entire stadium erupted in cheers once again. Fans throughout the arena could not contain their excitement and jumped up from their seats, letting out wild cheers.
Arenas, who hit the game-winning shot, was incredibly arrogant. With one hand in front and the other behind, he bowed to Payton and Jones, who were still in disbelief in front of him. Then he turned around and bowed to Pat Riley, who was not far away from him.
Finally, he turned around again and gave one last tap to the fans at Conseco Center.
grace!
Quite elegant!
After making such a big display, Arenas didn't have a chance to continue. The Pacers players rushed over like madmen, surrounded him, and celebrated excitedly.
Even Lin Tian, who had just been "stealed" by Arenas, was excitedly rubbing Arenas's head.
He knew that after tonight, the moment Arenas stole the ball, his wide-eyed disbelief would become headline news, and his fleeting astonishment and fear would be the subject of much discussion.
But what's so great about that? It doesn't matter at all!
Won!
The Pacers pulled off such a tough and hard-fought game!
"I almost thought we were going to lose! That bastard Gilbert, I'm going to make him do 1000 extra shots after the game!" Carlisle's voice even sounded a little like he was about to cry.
He was truly terrified, going from hell to heaven.
For a fleeting moment, he even suspected that Arenas had been bribed by Riley to steal the ball and disrupt the Pacers' chances of winning.
The instant Arenas reached out, he truly felt like he was doomed!
The same thought probably crossed the minds of the nearly 20,000 fans in the stadium and countless viewers in front of their televisions.
Then, in less than two seconds, Arenas transformed from "Judas who had gone mad" into "Jesus himself".
Competitive sports are just that crazy and amazing.
There is no certainty, no predictability.
Perhaps the only thing certain about tonight's game is that nitroglycerin will be sold out throughout Indiana.
That night, Lin Tian played the full 48 minutes without a second of rest, taking 30 shots. Although he only made 12 of them, and only 1 of 7 three-pointers, he still managed to score 29 points with 4-for-3 free throws. He also grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the playoffs!
In addition, during the offensive surge in the last two minutes, Lin Tian scored 4 points, 1 steal, and 1 assist. He accounted for 7 out of 10 points, and he still shouldered the responsibility of the team leader and absolute core!
Aside from Lin Tian's 29 points, only Miller and Arenas scored 10 points for the Pacers, making them the only three players on the team to reach double figures! The team's overall shooting percentage was also negligible.
In addition, Ben Wallace grabbed 22 rebounds, and although Webber only scored 7 points, he still grabbed 12 rebounds! This night, the Pacers did not collapse when facing the fierce Heat team, and the rebounding protection by Lin Tian, Ben Wallace, and Webber was absolutely crucial!
The situation was similar for the Heat. With a 47-minute lead, Mourning had 20 points, 24 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Although his shooting percentage was only 7 of 23, he once again displayed the ferocity of a top-tier center!
In addition, although Payton himself only made 5 of 15 shots, scoring 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, he finally managed to defend Lin Tian once. At least in this round, the nickname "Fingerless Glove" should not be called out again.
Besides these two, only Eddie Jones scored 14 points, which is considered double-digit for the Heat. Apart from these three, no other player on the team scored more than 8 points.
A super-fast-paced battle of bricks, a match where neither side could find their rhythm, a feast of loud clanging sounds.
It's worth mentioning that the two teams missed a total of 157 shots in this game, which is the highest record in NBA history!
Whether in the regular season or the playoffs, no two teams have ever managed to put together 157 iron blocks in a single game!
Before tonight, the NBA record for most missed shots in a single game was held by the Buffalo Braves against the Kansas City Kings in the 1977-78 season.
That night, the two teams also had a lot of "bang bang bang", but in the end they only managed to forge a mere 130 pieces of refined iron.
Compared to tonight's 157 yuan, there is indeed a qualitative difference.
Tonight, the basketball hoop was practically bent out of shape from all the impact!
Fortunately, the Pacers emerged victorious in this rim-smashing battle, securing their home court and restoring confidence to several players who had been struggling with missed shots throughout the night.
More importantly, they shattered the Heat's momentum! The confidence and determination they had built up over the previous two rounds, while not entirely destroyed by this game, were certainly dealt a huge blow to them tonight!
After all, the Heat had been in control of the game from the very first minute.
Tonight, everything from the referee's calls and the Pacers' shooting percentage to the playing styles and rhythms of both teams was under the Heat's control; it was all the style that the Heat wanted to play and hoped to play.
And they did indeed control the game for the first 47 minutes.
But it was that last minute of lapse that cost them everything.
That one minute of the game could easily raise a question in the minds of the Heat players.
If we still lose after all this, what exactly do we need to do to win?
In the next game, can we be in better shape, rhythm, and condition than we were in this one?
It is obviously very difficult.
Even if the Heat can maintain their fighting spirit and form tonight, will the Pacers continue to be restricted and unable to make shots?
That's obviously impossible!
This blow to the Heat is far greater than a 20-point blowout!
They wouldn't feel disappointed if they lost a game, but they clearly can't accept losing like tonight!
This reversal of momentum between the two sides came faster than expected!
In Game 2 of the series, the Pacers found their rhythm again. Carter and Webber, who hadn't scored in double figures in the previous game, both scored 20+ points. Lin Tian, who also found his touch, efficiently scored 30+12+11. The Pacers played their own style in Game 2 of the series!
78: 110!
The Pacers secured a resounding 32-point victory, narrowly avoiding defeat and protecting their home court!
They will next travel to Miami for two away games.
But everyone who knows the Pacers knows that after these two home games, and after seeing the Heat players' body language and the obvious difference in momentum between the two sides in Game 2 of the series, everyone can be sure of one thing.
The outcome of this series is pretty much decided!
In Game 3 of the series, the Pacers continued their momentum, once again putting on a spectacular offensive performance. The two teams were evenly matched in the first half.
However, in the latter part of the third quarter, when Carlisle brought out the all-out offensive lineup of Webber, Harrington, Miller, Carter and Lin Tian, the Heat's resistance quickly vanished within 3 minutes!
21: 5!
In just four minutes at the end of the third quarter, the Pacers unleashed a scoring surge that put them ahead by 16 points, extending their lead to over 20 points!
Given the Heat's current offensive firepower, the fourth quarter will essentially become garbage time.
After all, they won the playoffs this season because of their defense!
Their average score in the first two rounds was only 91.7 points! On average, even if the Pacers didn't score a single point in the fourth quarter, it would be difficult for the Heat to close the huge 20-point gap.
Their lineup is simply too weak.
Not to mention the Pacers were on fire tonight. Even if they only scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, it would be considered a poor performance and a bad day.
The result of this match is self-evident.
110: 90!
The Pacers secured another victory, winning their third straight game in this series by 20 points!
After creating miracles and upsets in the first two rounds, the Heat were finally pushed to the brink by the Pacers in this series!
They found themselves trailing 0-3.
This time, even the most optimistic Miami fans don't think their team can create another miracle.
This time, the situation was truly dire, and the opponent was far too powerful.
The current champions, who have won three championships in four years and are aiming for a three-peat, will be defeated in four straight games when their morale is high and they are at their peak, becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 0-3 deficit?
Just thinking about it makes it clear that this is impossible.
This is at least 10 times harder than defeating Martians with Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse!
This dejected mentality didn't ease even after the Heat won Game 4, bringing the series to 1-3.
The fans and the team alike felt that enough was enough! They all felt that winning one game, avoiding a sweep, proving that they were indeed the second-best team in the East, and becoming the only team in the East not to be swept by the Pacers, was enough!
They were quite satisfied with the outcome of this battle for dignity!
We should be content! Making it to the Eastern Conference Finals is already a huge win! Mourning's return and his strong season is already a huge win! Not to mention the team has plenty of salary cap space. If Riley pulls some magic in the offseason, we'll be a championship contender again in no time!
As for this year?
It's already a great success!
In any case, Heat fans are very satisfied with this season.
So satisfied that after they had already secured the victory in the fourth game, they actually started cheering, chanting Carter's name as they cheered.
"Give us Vince!"
"Miami will always welcome Vince!"
"These are the hottest girls in America!"
"You can get everything here!"
"You'll be our MVP!"
The battle for Carter continues!
However, Carter clearly didn't appreciate these suggestions at all. Ever since Lin Tian analyzed the situation with him, the Heat were no longer on his shortlist.
A person with his personality would never choose to cooperate with Riley.
Their birth charts are incompatible.
This lack of appreciation continued until Game 5 of the series. After the game ended and the Heat were swept 4-1 by the Pacers, Riley walked up to Carter with a smile, wanting to shake his hand and say a few polite words to try and seduce him.
Carter simply ran away, showing Riley no respect whatsoever, not even a smile or a perfunctory response, leaving Riley, whose hand was still raised in mid-air, feeling extremely frustrated and helpless.
"Pat, your tricks won't work on young people! We're not buying it!" Lin Tian stood beside Riley with a grin and said to him, "From now on, you'll be hard-pressed to find a few more guys like Alonzo, Patrick, and Irwin who are completely under your thumb!"
"Hmph, we'll see." Riley snorted, knowing full well that Lin Tian must have whispered something in Carter's ear. He waved dismissively at Lin Tian, turned, and left.
Riley scoffed at Lin Tian's words.
If you, little fox, don't fall for my tricks, how can others not?
I can find a guy in the league or college who's relentlessly aggressive, ruthless, and willing to do anything to win, but is also very easy to fool!
The Heat could complete their rebuild in two years at most!
Riley turned and left with his grand ambitions, his mind already racing with plans for the rookies of the next two years. Meanwhile, Lin Tian chatted casually with Mourning, Payton, and others.
"How's your body, Alonzo? Don't push yourself! By the way, if your body can't take it anymore, and you feel like you can only play 15 minutes a game before needing to catch your breath, come to Indiana anytime. I can lead you to a championship."
"This thing is within my grasp!"
"Fuck you!" Mo Ning gave Lin Tian the middle finger without hesitation, saying, "Were you always this annoying, or did you only become like this as an adult?"
"I've been this annoying since my past life." Lin Tian smiled and waved to Mourning, then hugged Payton before turning and leaving the court.
The season isn't over yet!
Even their last opponent of the season hasn't been decided yet!
Of course, whether it's the Lakers or the Kings, the first thing the Pacers have to do is pack their bags.
Because those two teams have better records than the Pacers, their season will have to start on the road no matter what!
The day after the Pacers eliminated the Heat, the pivotal Game 5 between the Lakers and the Kings began!
It was quite unexpected that this series went to a fifth game!
Not only because the two sides were tied 2-2 after the first four games, but also because the Kings played an almost insane shooting performance on offense, just as their fans had hoped!
With Peja and Bibby as the absolute core, plus top shooters like Bobby Jackson and Hedo Tugkolu, the Kings really used a pick-and-roll followed by shooting or driving to make the Lakers' O'Neals tremble and suffer!
They almost never drove to the basket, instead repeatedly using mid-range and long-range shots to punish the Lakers' inability to defend.
系列赛前四战，虽然国王完全顶不住湖人队的火力，让奥尼尔场均以58%的命中率拿下29分14篮板，让科比场均拿下27分7篮板7助攻，甚至湖人队的三号人物小奥尼尔每场都能供献15分9篮板！
It's unstoppable! Absolutely unstoppable!
But the Kings have never been known for their ability to defend their opponents. They have always prided themselves on being able to score, as long as they can score even more points than their opponents!
In the first four games of the series, Bibby averaged 22 points and 8 assists with a 44% three-point shooting percentage, while Peja averaged 31 points with a 48% three-point shooting percentage!
Both of these players delivered the most spectacular series of their careers!
In addition, there's Turkoglu with a 40% three-point shooting percentage and Jim Jackson with a 43% three-point shooting percentage. Even the big center Vlade Divac made 3 of 4 three-pointers in the first four games, constantly giving the Lakers a fierce attack from beyond the arc!
The Kings, who shot at a top-tier level in the league, managed to tie the Lakers in the first four games!
In the crucial Game 3, the Lakers were clearly playing with all their might. The O'Neal brothers no longer stayed in the paint, but repeatedly rushed out of the three-second zone to disrupt the Kings' pick-and-rolls and shots. In addition, Kobe wandered around to help defend and fill in gaps. In this game, the Kings' offense was completely extinguished!
95: 110!
After the Kings lost Game 5 by 15 points, almost everyone felt that the Lakers had found a way to stop their terrifying offense and shooting, and that the Lakers had taken control of the series!
But the unexpected events of Game 6 of the series plunged the entire city of Los Angeles into despair.
When O'Neal attempted to block Bibby's drive, he landed awkwardly and his ankle twisted 90 degrees!
Given his weight, this sprain, even if not fatal, would definitely keep him resting for at least 2-3 months!
After all, the ankle already bears a lot of burden, and his continuous outward defensive play in two consecutive games has greatly increased the burden on his ankle.
Of course, more importantly, although O'Neal won the MVP this year, his performance on the court was somewhat disappointing. His free throws were not as good as last year, his defense was not as aggressive as last year, and he was even heavier than last year!
Clearly, after a strong start last year, O'Neal is now in a decline this year.
He can still play at a top level, but his mentality and preparation are definitely not as good as last year.
But no matter what, whether O'Neal regrets not training as hard as he did last year or not, he definitely won't be able to play in the upcoming games!
His weight was too much! This advantage, which had previously helped him dominate the paint in the league, became O'Neal's Achilles' heel at this moment.
In the second quarter of Game 6, with the Lakers leading by 7 points, O'Neal left the game due to injury!
This injury completely reversed the situation between the two teams!
Even though Kobe was completely on fire after the game, scoring a career playoff high of 49 points, the Kings' outside shooting was simply too fierce, and the Lakers were never able to completely take control of the game.
To make matters worse, with three minutes left in the game, Jermaine O'Neal picked up his sixth foul and had to leave the court.
In this situation, with the last 3 minutes of the game remaining, Kobe had to fight alone and attack the Kings' formation by himself!
But the Kings weren't stupid either. Although they weren't good at defense and didn't like defense, when two of the opponent's three most important players were out, they became increasingly ruthless in double-teaming Kobe!
Kobe was double-teamed relentlessly, and his passes to either Fisher or Shaw failed to find the net. With both O'Neals out, Divac suddenly transformed into an inside monster in the last three minutes of the game, scoring repeatedly on one-on-one plays and grabbing multiple offensive rebounds!
With such a shift in momentum, the Lakers suffered a disappointing defeat on the road!
3: 3!
The series went to a Game 7!
After the game, Kobe Bryant gave an interview with a very serious expression: "I know Shaq won't be back for this series, so we will take on everything! The rest of us will take on everything!"
"We can't lose. If Shaq comes back for the Finals, but we've already been eliminated, how are we supposed to face him?"
"Since 49 points wasn't enough to win, I'll score 59 or 69! I don't care how many points I ultimately score, as long as the team wins, as long as we advance to the finals, as long as Phil asks me to do it, I will do it!"
That's what Kobe said, and as is customary, that's what he did!
In the final Game 7, Kobe was truly unleashing his full power. He single-handedly shattered the Kings' entire defense, and no matter who stood in front of him, they were all destined to be easily crushed!
第一节11投7中拿下18分，第二节9投5中拿下12分，第三节又是15投8中轰下21分！
After three quarters, Kobe had already scored a whopping 51 points!
He set a new career high in just three quarters, fulfilling his promise and doing everything he set out on the court!
The problem is, the opposing Kings are absolutely unwilling to give up such a golden opportunity, as this is the first time in their team history that they have had a chance to make it to the finals!
In response to Kobe's madness, the Kings' response was Peja Stojakovic's 31 points in three quarters, and Bibby's 23 points and 9 assists in the first three quarters!
These two are unleashing their full potential and giving it their all to carry the team into the finals!
After the first three quarters, the score was temporarily set at 81-80!
The Lakers are leading by 1 point!
In the fourth quarter, neither team's key players had much time or resources to rest, and both coaches fielded their full-strength lineups for a showdown!
The score was neck and neck, with neither side willing to give the other any chance!
The suspense of the game lasted until the last 2 minutes, when the Lakers still had a 4-point lead and Kobe had scored a total of 60 points!
But his scoring for tonight stopped there!
Kobe, who hadn't rested for a second on the court and was firing on all cylinders, seemed to suddenly tire in the last two minutes. In those last two minutes, he suddenly lost all his accuracy, missing four shots in a row. It was as if everything had returned to his rookie year game against the Jazz!
Meanwhile, Peja and Bibby continued their onslaught, each hitting a three-pointer from the left and right, not only taking the lead but also maintaining it until the end of the game!
Tonight, Kobe, just like that other night, sent his team out of the playoffs with four consecutive missed shots!
For the Kings, this was the first time in franchise history that they had made it to the NBA Finals!
Finals matchup: Sacramento Kings vs. Indiana Pacers!
After the game, Kobe sat alone in the center of the court, biting his lip, and didn't say a word for a long time.
Years of failures and losses have left him feeling lost once again.
Phil said I'm the best shooting guard. Am I really?
Kobe sat silently on the ground, a stark contrast to the Sacramento crowd celebrating wildly around him, and the entire city of Los Angeles was destined to be sleepless that night!
Of course, no one will blame Kobe for giving his all, just as no one will blame Shaq for giving his all but getting injured and leaving the game.
The Lakers did their best, and the players played well.
It was just bad luck.
They failed to reach the finals for the third consecutive year, and once again fell short in their pursuit of the championship.
After the game, neither Kobe nor Shaq had the most solemn expressions.
It was Jerry West.
This Lakers godfather, who made outstanding contributions to the team both as a player and general manager, couldn't help but think more deeply at this time.
Should we change the team's lineup?
Do you want to break up the OK combination and seek new opportunities or lineups?
With this Lakers roster, is there still a chance to win the championship?
It's not even a matter of strength. The problem is that such a top-tier lineup has been unable to achieve a real breakthrough for so many years. Perhaps it's just that the lineup's fate is not good?
In short, West's tasks this summer may not be very heavy, but he definitely needs to think carefully about how the team should move forward.
Lakers owner Jerry Buss also looked somewhat somber, just like West.
His head was moving even more than West's.
After these consecutive defeats, Bass felt that perhaps it wasn't just the core lineup that needed to be replaced, but also West, a veteran player, should be moved to a different position and replaced with someone else.
Like many teams, the Lakers may be facing a major change this offseason!
These disturbances and off-court issues are, at least for now, completely ignored and unconcerned by the Kings.
Excitement! Madness! Celebration!
This is the first time in their team history that they have reached the Finals, and the first time they have come so close to the championship!
Everyone on the team, from top to bottom, was extremely excited!
Meanwhile, just as excited as the Sacramento residents were the Indiana Pacers, far away in Indiana.
"It's safe!"
"Three-peat!"
"Hooray! The Sacramento people have taken down that pesky fat Los Angeles guy and his paranoid little brother!"
"YES! This time it was much easier!"
"Dynasty! We are a dynasty team!"
Yes, the Pacers have already started celebrating their championship victory!
There's no way around it; compared to the Lakers, the Kings are definitely the easier team to beat!
Both the Kings and the Pacers are offensively dominant teams, relying heavily on shooting and passing/cutting!
These two teams can even be considered the two most entertaining teams to watch in the league today, as their attributes are so similar.
But from any perspective, the Kings are at least one level worse than the Pacers!
The Pacers' interior defense is weak, but the Kings' interior defense is even weaker!
The Pacers prioritize offense over defense, while the Kings prioritize offense over defense!
The Pacers' strengths lie in transition offense and three-pointers, while the Kings' strength lies solely in three-pointers!
Everyone knows that the most important thing to do to beat the current Pacers is to stop their offense, force them into half-court sets, and force them into one-on-one situations.
The problem is that these are precisely the king's weaknesses, and also the things he is least good at.
In their last three series in the Western Conference, they couldn't stop even one of their opponents' key players!
Kobe, Shaq, Nowitzki, Finley, Lewis
Let me put it this way, if you have even a little skill, you can definitely put up some impressive stats on the Kings!
And then you see, what a coincidence!
The Pacers happen to have a bunch of players who fit the description of "anyone with a decent skill level"—they have plenty of players who can put up amazing performances and stats when facing the Kings!
At the very least, in terms of defensive resources, not a single one of the Kings' starting five has the word "defense-minded" written on their forehead.
The only player who could be considered a decent defender was Divac, but Divac's specialty was acting!
He can fake a fall, scream in pain, and get twisted and bent over by your punches, then wait for the referee to blow the whistle.
But when it comes to protecting the rim, top defense, and support defense...
It's not even worth mentioning!
To put it simply, in terms of defense, the Pacers can easily dominate the Kings!
The Pacers simply don't like playing defense, and their starting five has two players who aren't good defenders. But when it comes to defensive resources, the Pacers have the best defensive player and top-tier one-on-one defensive specialists!
More importantly, even ignoring the gap in defense.
Let's just talk about offense.
Is there any team in this league, or even in the history of this league, that can compare to this Pacers team?
Their firepower is far superior to that of other teams!
Ever since that Pacers team was formed, every team that tried to compete with them offensively has been doomed!
Each death was more gruesome than the last.
At this moment, all the Pacers players believed: the Kings were doomed to an even worse fate! (End of Chapter)