No one expected that today's game would be so intense and even go into overtime.
The Rose Garden Arena was very lively and the atmosphere was extremely anxious.
Everyone is waiting for overtime to come.
The timeout is over and both sides have made lineup adjustments.
For the Trail Blazers, Barton felt average tonight. Coach Terry put Connett Lee on the court lineup in overtime, and the other four positions remained unchanged.
On the Mosaic team, since Nurkic has already committed six fouls, Capela can only be used as the fifth position to defend here.
At the same time, D'Antoni also placed Anthony in the fourth position. Judging from Anthony's tonnage, there is no problem in playing the fourth position for the time being.
The first, second and third positions of the Mosaic team are Harden, Gordon and Ariza respectively.
Among them, Gordon had a great performance tonight. He contributed 18 points in the first four quarters and was the third-highest scoring player on the Mosaic team tonight.
The reason why D'Antoni sent out this lineup is self-evident. This is the rhythm to carry the magic ball to the end!
Except for Capela, who only needs to protect the frame, the other four positions all have sufficient shooting ability, which can be regarded as an alternative small lineup with one star and four shots.
Many of them are not good. It is true that Capela, who is 2.08 meters tall, looks too thin in front of Wang Zelin.
The coaches on both sides met their opponents!
Not only did the "Denggua" team break out tonight, but Wang Zelin's performance was as steady and terrifying as ever. His personal score in the first four quarters had reached 35 points.
35 points in the fourth quarter is a commendable thing for any other active player, but it is still a bit low for Wang Zelin, and he does not even average points per game for the season.
But you can't blame him. Although Barton was strong tonight, the Trail Blazers' shooters were in good shape. Lillard, Batum, Connett Lee, Yi Jianlian, Moreau, and Carter all scored in double figures.
Especially Lillard, he made 7 of 13 three-pointers tonight and was the fourth player to score 30 points in the game. He scored 31 points personally and sent out 11 assists.
Both sides can be said to be in good shape tonight. Although one or two players on both sides failed, the overall performance was still very satisfactory.
Sometimes, a great game requires not only one's own strength, but also an opponent with equally strong strength.
Only with the strong collision can it be possible to push the game to its peak and ultimately forge a great game!
As the referee blew his whistle, the final moment finally came.
As of now, no matter who wins in the end, no one will be surprised. But because of this, at the moment when the victory has not yet come to an end, both sides are determined to give it a last try.
Players from both sides come to the center circle and jump the ball.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
The surroundings reminded me of the MVP cheers from the home fans.
You don’t need to think about it to know, who are these voices for?
The Mosaic fans in front of the screen looked nervously at Trail Blazers No. 36, who was preparing to jump the ball. That was a dangerous man. The reason why the Mosaic team fell at the feet of the Trail Blazers all year round was because of that man.
This time, it’s time for us to win, right?
Mosaic fans think so.
"beep"
The referee blew the whistle and threw the ball into the sky. Although Capela knew that there was a high probability of losing, he still wanted to give it a try and challenge the current No. 1 center.
"It's almost, it's almost... just a little bit closer!"
Looking at the ball within reach, there was a hint of joy on his face at first, but then, a giant hand suddenly appeared in front of him, and the joy that had just risen disappeared, and everything turned into fear.
This guy……
"Snapped!"
Wang Zelin took the lead to touch the ball and hit it into the hands of Connett Lee.
The Trail Blazers attacked first, and Connet Lee handed the ball to Lillard. Lillard looked up and saw that the Mosaic team was well prepared and returned to defense very quickly. It seemed that there was no chance for a fast break, but...
Opportunities are often created by people!
After landing, Wang Zelin buried his head and rushed into the three-point line at full speed. After rushing into the free throw line, he pointed his right index finger towards the sky.
Lillard understood it and threw the ball into the sky just after it passed the center circle.
Everyone looked around hurriedly and saw a figure suddenly leaping from the Mosaic basket. He jumped so high that after getting the ball, he dunked it with one hand!
123:121, the Trail Blazers took the lead less than 5 seconds into overtime.
"MVP..."
The fans at the scene cheered louder and louder, waving their palms constantly to celebrate Wang Zelin's moment.
When ESPN commentator Mike Mahon couldn't help but say: "Hey~ This guy needs someone to stop him. It's not good to be too relaxed!"
On the court, after Wang Zelin completed his attack, he quickly retreated from defense, not forgetting to high-five his teammates in celebration along the way.
Harden looked at Wang Zelin's retreating back, his expression extremely solemn, but when he turned to look at his teammates, he immediately regained his confidence: "Ignore him, let's beat us, serve quickly!"
"Yeah!" Capela hummed, and then sent the ball to the boss Harden.
Arriving in the frontcourt, Harden patiently organized the offense.
After a run, he saw Anthony reaching out under the basket. He wanted to pass the ball back and forth, but Batum switched to the inside and was already blocking Anthony.
The Mosaic team's tactics did not work out. Harden organized the offense to greet Ariza for a high pick-and-roll, and then passed back to Ariza after breaking through.
But as soon as Ariza caught the ball, Wang Zelin's defense was in place.
It is true that Capela's offensive threat is too limited, and scoring outside the three-second zone is completely hopeless. Therefore, Wang Zelin focused on Mosaic's hot perimeter group.
Facts have proved that his choice was correct.
Wang Zelin assisted Connett Lee to restrain Ariza very well, and the two quickly double-teamed him.
D'Antoni, who was on the sidelines, felt bad and hurriedly stood up and shouted: "Hurry up and respond! It has already been spread."
But there is not much time left to attack, and the more hasty you are at this time, the easier it is to make mistakes. Ariza turned around and wanted to pass to Harden on the left, but he just raised his hand.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! At this moment, Wang Zelin slapped me hard.
With a "pop" sound, the ball was knocked away and flew to the backcourt.
"Wang Zelin...he completed a key steal! Opportunity, the Trail Blazers got the chance to expand the score..."
Mike Mahon was so excited that he had completely integrated into the hot atmosphere of the scene and unknowingly transformed into a honeymooner!
This is opportunity.
Wang Zelin knew this very well, and Harden on the side also knew this very well. The two looked at the direction where the ball landed at the same time, and made their own choices.
Harden turned around and was about to start rushing over, but saw a familiar figure break away from the ground and fly out.
Do you want to work so hard?
Seeing this scene, everyone was stunned for a moment, including Harden, one of the two parties involved.
But just for a moment, the opportunity was fleeting. Wang Zelin threw himself to the ground regardless of the danger and successfully grabbed the ball.
At this time, the tacit understanding between players is particularly important.
Among the other nine players on the court, Lillard was the first to react.
In fact, the moment Wang Zelin poked the ball away, he had already made the choice to turn around and run towards the Mosaic team's half.
He believes in Wang Zelin more than anyone else. As a player of the same generation, he has witnessed many miracles created by the latter. When the team needs it most, the latter can always stand up in time.
This time, there will be no exception!
Therefore, he once again chose to believe in Wang Zelin unconditionally!
And Wang Zelin did not disappoint Lillard. After grabbing the ball, he subconsciously looked toward the Mosaic team's half, and his eyes quickly locked on Lillard, who was about to reach the three-point line.
Next, it’s up to you, good brother!
Wang Zelin struggled to get up, half-kneeling in the posture of throwing a bowling ball, caught the ball and passed it out, and looked over.
At this moment, the two of them seemed to be telepathically connected. Lillard suddenly turned around and saw the basketball rolling across the floor at first glance. Then he looked back and saw an extremely hot gaze.
I will not let you down!
Lillard responded with a hard look, picked up the ball, and quickly rushed to the basket. In order to take off on one foot after two steps, he held the ball in his right hand and slammed it towards the basket.
"boom!"
A very cool one-handed chop!
125:121, the Trail Blazers continued to expand their lead.
After landing, Lillard did not care about the ball at his feet, but turned around and quickly rushed to the center circle to help Wang Zelin up.
"Portland~must win!"
"Portland~must win!"
"Portland~must win!"
Compared to the dunk just now, the home fans were so moved by the scene in front of them that they let out bursts of heart-rending roars.
The reporters and photographers at the scene were not idlers. They recorded all the wonderful shots just now, especially the passionate look between Wang Zelin and Lillard when the ball was halfway passed, which made them even more excited.
I almost jumped with excitement.
"Perhaps, a classic scene comparable to the Janeway Connection was born!"
A beautiful woman from Sports Illustrated looked at the photos taken by the photographer and looked so moved that she didn't even notice the vibrato when she spoke.
The Mosaic team substituted early, and D'Antoni's expression became darker and darker. Listening to the shouts from around him, his heart gradually dropped to the bottom.
Less than half a minute into the overtime, the Trail Blazers scored with a steal and a counterattack, completely disrupting his original plan.
At the same time, it also brought the Trail Blazers' morale to an unprecedented peak.
As one of the famous coaches in the NBA, D'Antoni clearly felt the changes in the morale of both sides. If the Mosaic team still fails to attack in the next round, then they will completely lose the chance to defeat the Trail Blazers.
"James!"
Thinking of this, he hurriedly shouted to Harden.
Harden turned around after hearing the sound, and quickly understood something from the coach's eyes. He nodded heavily, and then took the serve from Capela.
Mosaic offense, Harden slowly advanced while making tactical gestures to his teammates.
Pull away from me, big brother, I want to fight alone!
Yes, this is Harden's unique singles gesture in the Mosaic team. You basically know this tactic from other teams.
Sure enough, when he saw other Mosaic players looking around, Lillard's expression became serious.
"Want to change?"
At this time, Batum, who was on the high position on the right, shouted.
There is a height and tonnage gap between Lillard and Harden. If they are one-on-one, they will most likely be beaten by the opponent.
"Um."
Lillard hesitated for a moment, then chose to put the overall situation first and took the initiative to switch defenses.
As for Harden, as the number one shooting guard in active duty, he is full of confidence in his scoring ability. This is the absolute confidence of a super scorer!
No matter who he faces, he is confident that he can defeat his opponent one on one!
After the opponent completed the switch of defense, Harden slowly approached the three-point line.
Seeing Harden's fake moves, Batum didn't dare to make a move casually. He didn't look at the ball, but locked Harden's shoulders.
Generally speaking, when a player wants to make a breakthrough, the first thing to react is the shoulder. As long as the shoulder moves, he will know which way the opponent is going to go.
This is the experience of an elite defender!
But it's a pity that Batum met the red god of death today who was already red-eyed!
Harden took a step forward, and Batum subconsciously retreated.
But in the next second, Harden took a step back and returned to the three-point line. Batum judged it, and without slowing down, he swooped over decisively.
At this moment, Harden's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sneer that seemed to have succeeded.
After he waited for Batum to completely take off, he seized the moment of falling and jumped decisively. He took the initiative to meet Batum with his right hand and met Batum.
Foul from beyond the three-point line?
Seeing this scene, some fans were so anxious that they jumped out of their seats.
The next moment, the referee blew the whistle, and Harden's plan seemed to be accomplished.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The Trail Blazers players on the court were also ready for the opportunity to be fouled by Harden.
But they all seem to have forgotten one very important thing: Harden is left-handed!
After being called for a foul, Harden relied on his strong core strength to keep his shooting hand unchanged and shoot the ball.
"Whoosh!"
The basketball drew a beautiful arc like a full moon scimitar in the air, and finally hit the net hollowly.
If you score a three-pointer, you have to add a free throw!
This is Harden's real purpose. The three-pointer after taking the initiative to commit a foul went in!
The terrifying confidence of a super scorer!
After the ball was scored, there was an inexplicable silence on the scene. The lead was finally expanded to four points. Is it about to tie with a ball from the opposite side?
There was a burst of excitement from the Mosaic bench.
Having been suppressed for so long, they finally found a chance to release it, but they had to vent it out desperately.
This goal was scored very handsomely, it was extremely incomprehensible, and it was completely unreasonable!
And this is exactly the charm of the superstar moment!
If every offense must be rational, then why do we need superstars?
Besides, this is the kind of work that superstars do when they receive such huge salaries!
Just like Wang Zelin and Lillard before, they stunned their opponents in less than half a minute.
The same is true for Harden now, he is also helping the team in his own way.
The entire Rose Garden Arena was stopped by him, and his teammates on the bench were also completely excited. They all felt better than if they had made a three-pointer.
On the other hand, Harden himself seemed very calm, with just a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.
Wang Zelin put his hands on his hips and coughed before the teammates around him came to their senses.
This kind of team mosaic is a great morale booster, but it is a fatal blow to the Trail Blazers.
Fortunately, even if Harden made an extra free throw to score 4 points, the two sides would only equalize the score.
"Fights between gods! This is the real fight between gods!"
In the Tencent studio, Yang Yi said vividly.
"As expected of the current number one shooting guard, he's so awesome." Wang Meng also commented.
"Every point is particularly precious now. How about seeing Brother Deng add a penalty?"
"Hey, the free throw was made. The Mosaic team successfully scored 4 points. 125:125. The two sides are tied!"
Amid the continuous commentary, the fierce competition continued.