The SuperSonics easily advanced to the Western Conference Finals, but the series between the Lakers and Kings was so intense that it almost knocked the brains out of the players.

After the two sides tied at 2-2, the Kings won the crucial battle of Tianwangshan 104-91 at home. Then, a dramatic scene happened in g6.

The Lakers won 106-102 at home and dragged the game into a tiebreaker, which caused huge controversy. Because the Lakers scored a total of 31 points in the final quarter, 21 of which came from free throws.

The Lakers got a total of 27 free throw opportunities in the final quarter, and 16 of the last 18 points came from free throws. The Kings only had 9 free throws in the final quarter. The referee's call scale was obviously different, giving the victory directly to the Lakers.

The Kings' two centers, Verratti Divac and Scott Pollard, both left the game with 6 fouls, and Webber also had 5 fouls. The most amazing thing is that substitute center Pollard was ruled out after playing only 11 minutes.

6 fouls were called.

Kobe elbowed Mike Bibby, and Bibby fell to the ground with blood on his face. The referee actually called Bibby a foul. The Kings' substitute power forward Lawrence Funderburk was more than one meter away from O'Neal when he was defending. O'Neal turned to shoot, and the referee called a foul.

Fouled by Fonderbock's thug.

After the game, the fans were full of curses. The Lakers, who are not the defending champion, are not as popular as in the parallel world. Some fans found it funny and said that the Lakers were fighting for a chance to be beaten by the SuperSonics.

President David Stern really hopes that the Lakers will advance to the Western Conference Finals. The OK team is a high-flying star. Except for Webber, the Kings have little popularity.

The tiebreaker was held at the Kings' home court. The two teams fought hard to attack, and the score remained tense.

Divac is slow and unable to defend pick-and-rolls. He can better demonstrate his value against O'Neal, and his body can compete with the Sharks.

Of course, Divac couldn't guard O'Neal, but he could consume him. Together with his teammates, he lowered O'Neal's shooting percentage. The price was that he only played 27 minutes and was sent off for 6 fouls.

O'Neal still has a way to help the team in the face of double teams. His free throws in the last two games are very accurate. He made 13 of 17 free throws in the last game and 11 of 15 in this game. He performed at a superb level.

What is unexpected is that in the end, it was Kobe who helped the Kings defend O'Neal. At the critical moment in the final quarter, when the opponent's starting center Divac had been sent off, O'Neal was unable to receive the pass.

Kobe, who dared to take responsibility, stood up and held the ball in isolation against Doug Christie, the Kings' best defensive player, and made consecutive jump shots. The Kings, who were 5 points behind, took the opportunity to reverse and lead by 3 points.

The Lakers still had one last chance to attack, and they made a shot that would allow them to enter overtime. "Zen Master" Phil Jackson called a timeout and arranged the tactics, allowing power forward Donyel Marshall to make the key shot. Kobe was dissatisfied with this.

But Zen Master will not arrange for him to take action, because Zen Master knows very well that if Kobe Bryant is allowed to take action at this time, the Lakers will lose 80% of the time.

According to Kobe's previous behavior, more than 70% of the chances are that he will make a jump shot, and the possibility of making a mistake is very low.

The situation is very similar to that of the parallel world, but this time it is Marshall, not Robert Horry, who is responsible for making key shots. Horry usually does not have a high shooting percentage, but he often makes key shots and has a big heart. Marshall was ordered to take action at the critical moment, left.

A 60-degree catch and jump shot from the side.

At the end of the game, 103 to 100, the Kings narrowly defeated the Lakers and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

The Kings had 6 players score in double figures, and the bench was the key to winning. Although the Kings only had 8 players in the rotation, two substitutes scored in double figures, and the three substitutes scored 31 points together. The Lakers had 4 substitute rotations, a total of

Only scored 5 points.

Kobe became the key to victory and defeat, taking more shots than O'Neal, making 10 of 26 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, 8 of 10 free throws, scoring 30 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 5 fouls.

Kobe's shooting percentage was only 38.5%, and he dared to make another shot after failing to make one. His last few jump shots received warm applause from the Kings fans, which was quite embarrassing.

Lakers fans really want to know what Kobe is thinking. He has done this kind of thing more than once. In the second season of his career, Kobe dared to shoot "three no-sticks" continuously at a critical moment in the 1997 playoffs.

Kobe was always very confident. In his rookie season, he approached the team's coach Del Harris and said that no one in the league could match him one-on-one. He suggested that the coach keep O'Neal away from the penalty area sometimes to give him room to break through.

.

In this series, Kobe's shooting percentage was only 41.9%, but he dared to shoot. He averaged 24.6 shots per game, two more than O'Neal, and scored 27.1 points with free throws.

At the end of the game, O'Neal and Kobe argued on the sidelines, and the conflict became public.

The team won two consecutive championships, and they would fall out because of the boss fight. Now that the Lakers can't win, they both feel that the other is not good enough, and their relationship is also very bad.

O'Neal has the last year left on his long-term contract. Whether or not to renew his contract in advance in the summer is a headache for the Lakers management. If not, the Lakers will have to consider trading O'Neal next season, otherwise they may get nothing.

After the rookie contract, Kobe signed a 6-year contract with the Lakers worth approximately US$70 million, expiring in 2004, with a player option in 2003. The OK team will definitely break up, and the Lakers will most likely keep Kobe because he is young.

The OK combination has been together for 6 seasons, and their best record was in the Western Conference Finals. Their historical status has almost disappeared. In other words, they have no such thing as historical status at all.

Donyel Marshall is also preparing to leave. He himself does not want to stay with the Lakers.

Marshall was the No. 4 pick in the first round of 1994. Regardless of how strong he was, he averaged 15.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1 block for the Warriors. After joining the Lakers, Marshall became a soybean, averaging only 8.8 points per game.

point.

Winning is the credit of OK's team, and Marshall takes the blame for losing. He has long since forgotten such a day. He is not a person who can be the boss, but he also doesn't want to be just an ordinary role player.

The Lakers' elimination is not big news, and the media only mentioned it a few times. The Lakers are eliminated every year and are often swept. People are used to it.

In the two-round series in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors eliminated the Celtics 4-2 and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for two consecutive years.

Yang Jian was sure that the Sonics would not be able to recruit Ron Artest. His performance on the defensive end in the second round was very eye-catching, and the efficiency of guarding Celtics core Paul Pierce dropped significantly.

Pierce averaged 43.8 minutes per game, scoring 23.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks. Looking at the data, Pierce beat Artest, but his shooting percentage was only 36.4% and the three-point shooting percentage was 21.1%.

Pierce is a strong small forward. He has a strength advantage against most small forwards and can calmly hold the ball and make movements to turn around and shoot. Artest's physique is not inferior to Pierce, and he constantly looks for physical confrontations to disrupt his offensive rhythm.

The Celtics' second-choice player Antoine Walker performed equally poorly, averaging 22.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals in the series, shooting only 38.5% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range.

Walker received a lot of bad reviews after the game. He averaged 7 three-pointers per game. As a power forward, he rarely plays in the low post and likes to shoot wildly. His mid- and long-range shooting percentage is less than 35%, and his true shooting percentage is not.

To 50%, it's too toxic.

In a parallel world, Walker's field goal percentage has never reached 45% in his career. It is a miracle that he can be selected as an All-Star three times. The Eastern Conference really lacks interior stars.

The Nets eliminated the Pistons 4-1. The two teams fought hard defensively to win. The Nets' offense was not good, and the Pistons were even worse.

The Pistons' leading scorer, Jerry Stackhouse, averaged 19.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists in the series, while shooting only 33.7% from the field.

Ben Wallace had no advantage against Mutombo, averaging 6.4 points, 12.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 3 blocks per game. Mutombo's data dropped sharply after joining the Nets, with only 7.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2 blocks, but he

Performed well in the playoffs and can protect the penalty area.

Jason Kidd ranks fifth in the mvp rankings this season and is a bit underestimated. Last season, the Nets only achieved 26 wins. After replacing Marbury with Kidd, they improved to 51 wins and ranked second in the Eastern Conference.

Reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

Kidd's shooting ability is average, but he is a good point guard and can drive his teammates to attack.
Chapter completed!