Chapter 339 The birthday boy shows off his power (Part 2)

Author: Tiamo the Withered

Chapter 339 The birthday boy shows off his power (Part 2)

"Coach Van Gundy is really brave to employ people. He knows that Li Chengming is in great condition at this time, and the Lakers dare not let them go. As long as the outside shooters perform normally, it will not be easy to catch up with the score."

Xu Jieri said: "And I think this also has a strategic effect, that is, it can further damage the morale of the Lakers. You see, you can't beat me with such a lineup, so what if there is still half a game?"

In a simple word, it is shrimp and pig heart.

Of course, it can be said that the results have been achieved, but if the Lakers catch up during this period of time and let them show momentum, that will be another matter.

Van Gundy also has confidence in Li Chengming, and even intends to make him happy with good statistics.

The Lakers were frantically attacking him, but Li Chengming always found a way to get the ball and distribute the ball. His teammates were also inspired by him and took action after receiving the ball, giving him a few more assists.

After the first half, Li Chengming had already scored 15 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Unless he didn't play much time in the second half, he could have a triple-double at his fingertips.

Of course, winning is the most important thing.

But when the second half began, Van Gundy changed the lineup again and returned to his regular starting lineup. As a result, Howard, who had been holding back for a long time, succeeded in consecutive singles under the basket, or scored 2+1, Gasol, Turiaf,

Odom couldn't stop him every time he came up.

If Li Chengming is the most eye-catching point of the Magic series, then Howard is relatively less eye-catching, but his stable and solid backing, doing unobtrusive work on the defensive end, has contributed a lot.

He averaged 16 points, 15.4 rebounds and 3.4 blocks in the first three games, which is also the Magic's best statistics besides Li Chengming.

Moreover, he is still the defensive core of the Magic. Even if Li Chengming's defensive role has improved significantly now, he is still not comparable to Howard.

To put it simply, Howard can protect the Magic's lower limit, while Li Chengming can increase the Magic's upper limit. Together, they are the source of the Magic's unstoppability.

The Lakers relied on the scoring of Odom and Fisher to hold on to the point difference. When Li Chengming came up more than 5 minutes later, the point difference was still deadlocked at 14 points, and it was Kobe's free throw round.

He used his experience outside the three-point line to cause Lewis to foul and had to execute three free throws.

In the end, two of the three free throws were made, and the score became 51:64.

During the Magic's offensive round, Li Chengming pulled up to the high post to catch the ball, and Howard brought him up to create a fake pick-and-roll. After receiving the ball, he attracted the defense to pass to Nelson in the bottom corner.

However, Nelson is still not in good condition today, and he still has not grasped this opportunity. The Lakers have a chance to further shorten the point difference.

Kobe was about to get ready for a one-on-one attack in the frontcourt, but after Odom got the rebound, he threw it straight to the frontcourt without looking carefully, and was directly intercepted by Evans in the air.

The result was that the Magic regained the ball and had a five-on-four opportunity.

Evans passed to Turkoglu, and Turkoglu passed to Nelson. Nelson broke through to the free throw line and hit the ground to Howard who was free under the basket. Howard wanted to dunk and was fouled, and then it was a standard two free throws.

middle.

Director Zhang said: "This is what I fear most when chasing points. There are only 4 points here and outside. This is Odom!"

At this time, I don’t know how many Lakers fans were secretly scolding Odom, but apart from him, the Lakers had no one else available on the front line.

Compared with Radmanovic, Walton and others, Odom is already the most reliable answer to the Lakers' forward line at this time, and today's substitutes Walton and Farmar are not accurate in shooting, but they performed well on the court.

Vujacic also feels cold in this game. So far, he has made 0 of 5 shots and has not scored a single point.

This is also an important reason why the Lakers often failed to catch up with the score during the rotation period. The bench stretched his hips, even more than Kobe.

Even if Kobe can't make a shot, he can still break through, pass the ball, and defend. He has already got 3 steals, and he completed two steals in a row at the beginning of the second half. He once vented his anger with a fast break dunk.

I feel depressed today.

Today, the Lakers were unable to substitute, and the main players except Kobe performed well.

The Magic's offensive resources are still much richer. After Howard and Turkoglu opened up in the second half, the Lakers' defense became even more unsustainable. Li Chengming saw the opportunity and increased the score to 20 points, successfully completing 20+ points.

The mission of 10 is just one rebound away from reaching a triple-double.

After Warcraft and the Turks went down, Li Chengming moved to the fifth position, finally made up for the missing rebounds, and even added two assists.

By the end of the third quarter, the Magic had gained a 20+ lead again, and the Lakers were once again losing momentum.

Then they struggled again in the fourth quarter and only managed to catch up to 17 points after four minutes. As a result, Van Gundy didn't give the team a chance and got the main force back.

He had a lot of rest in the first half, which gave him the confidence to do this. Even if Howard and Turkoglu played out the rest of the time, they would each play 33 minutes in this game.

It is actually Li Chengming who plays the most games for the Magic. If he continues to play, it may take him 39 minutes, reaching a new high in the playoffs.

Naturally, Van Gundy was reluctant to work too hard for his beloved general, so he took him off the court to rest, led by Howard, Turkoglu and Lewis, who withstood the Lakers' counterattack, and the point difference remained at around 15 points, which also allowed him to take a rest.

The Lakers are gradually losing their temper.

When Li Chengming came back, a mid-range shot and a layup killed the last bit of suspense in the game. Two minutes later, both sides replaced all their main players and announced their withdrawal.

"Both sides came on the bench, and that's pretty much it for this game... Let's congratulate the Magic for winning another victory on the road. After losing their first home game, they withstood the pressure and won three consecutive games.

, the series has achieved a big lead of 3:1. At present, they are only one game away from winning the cup."

“The Magic’s best performer in this game was Li Chengming, who scored 26 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists on 9-of-15 shooting. He is also the youngest triple-double winner in the Finals, and he was able to win a triple-double in his rookie season.

The players who scored a triple-double in the finals..."

"Howard scored 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Lewis also had 15 points and 7 rebounds. The Magic's inside combination once again achieved an overwhelming advantage against their opponents today."

"On the Lakers side, Gasol, Odom and others actually performed well. Gasol scored a team-high 21 points and Odom scored 19 points. Both of them had double-doubles. Fisher hit two

He also scored 15 points on three-pointers. Radmanovic scored 13 points on 5 of 10...

"But apart from them, other Lakers players, including Kobe, are in a relatively sluggish state. Although Kobe scored 20 points, he made 6 of 19 shots and 1 of 4 three-pointers. His shooting percentage was just over 30%."

"However, he also sent out 10 assists and did a good job connecting the team from the second quarter. On the defensive end, he also had 4 steals and 1 block. But if the Lakers want to defeat the Magic, it will be difficult to rely on defense.

To do that, we still need to put more effort on the offensive end.”

After the game, the atmosphere at the Lakers' home court seemed gloomy. Some fans sat on the sidelines for a long time and refused to leave, because they knew the team was likely to go far away.

Losing three consecutive games and two at home had an obvious impact on their momentum, especially when they initially gained the advantage. The eyes of the Lakers players looked dim when they left the field.

At the post-game press conference, Kobe answered reporters' questions about the Lakers' lagging situation and his own performance without expression. He did not evade this game because of his own responsibility, but at the same time he guaranteed that they would play in the next game.

We will definitely fight back and keep our last home court.

For the Lakers, losing is actually not a desperate matter. After all, it has only been half a season since they traded Gasol, and Bynum is not playing, so the lineup is not complete.

But for Kobe, "the runner-up is the biggest loser," so he will definitely still strive for victory with all his strength, and there is no way out.

However, regarding the reporters' opinion that the Magic are stronger, their lineup is not good, and Bynum is sick, Kobe did not say much, but emphasized that the finals are not over yet and will never happen until the last moment.

give up.

Yeah, Mamba Mentality.
Chapter completed!