The moment he started, Deshawn Stevenson, who was responsible for defending Ci Shiping (replacing Terry in the defensive round), also pounced over and formed a double attack with Marion.
At this time, there were two paths before Kobe.
The first is to pass the ball to Ci Shiping, but Artest's touch is cold today and he has only scored 5 points so far.
The second is to fight by yourself, but you need to look for opportunities under the defense of two people. There is a high probability that you will have to force the shot in the end.
[It seems...the first option seems to have a higher success rate?]
A thought flashed through Kobe's mind.
So, he made the final choice...do it himself!
What's there to think about?
Isn’t that what superstars are made for?
Kobe lowered his center of gravity and accelerated to the right to break through.
Marion reacted obviously faster this time, taking the lead and getting stuck.
Kobe was hit and slightly deflected from his breakthrough route.
In desperation, he had no choice but to dribble horizontally in order to open up space.
At this time, Stevenson had already rushed up from behind Kobe.
In an instant, the two Mavericks defenders formed a siege and were about to force Kobe to the sideline.
Moreover, there are only the last three seconds left in the attack time, and the Lakers No. 24 has no room to turn...
He can either shoot or pass, but he must take action!
Fortunately, there is no sure path.
In a flash of lightning, Kobe found a feasible breakthrough route.
I saw him leaning on Marion with his left hand, and suddenly turned around...
This turn was so wonderful that it happened to pass between him and Marion before Stevenson arrived!
"woo..."
The fans at the scene screamed in surprise.
Many fans seemed to have foreseen something and showed expressions of despair.
At this time, Kobe, who fought his way out of the double-team defense, bent his knees at the free throw line, collected the ball, stopped and took off, shot, and pressed his wrist...
The whole set of movements is so smooth and extremely stretched that it can only be described as "beautiful and picturesque".
Behind him, Marion and Stevenson took off in panic, but they were unable to interfere with Kobe's shooting.
The basketball rotates at high speed, draws a beautiful arc in the air, and then hits the net!
Moreover, the moment the ball falls into the net, the red light on the timer lights up at the same time...
Buzzer-beater!
After scoring the goal, Kobe let go of the jersey from his mouth, smiled and raised his arms, waiting to rush towards his teammates, showing off his majestic attitude.
Nowitzki on the side shook his head helplessly, his face full of loneliness.
His performance in this game was already outstanding, but Kobe was even better.
Kidd silently walked behind the driver and patted him on the back.
"I will play better in the next game."
King Nuotian said seriously.
"I know."
Kidd nodded and continued to comfort Nowitzki.
The two of them looked at Kobe, who was surrounded by everyone, with a bit of envy on their faces.
One of Kobe's hands is already covered with rings, but they are still working hard for their first career championship.
"Let's go and fight in the next game."
Kidd said calmly.
"Um."
Nowitzki nodded.
The two accompanied each other and left through the players' tunnel.
............
In the box of the Toyota Center Arena, Shen Fei turned off the live broadcast without feeling satisfied.
The Lakers actually beat the Mavericks in Game 1...
This means that the initiative in the series falls to the Lakers.
If the Mavericks still cannot defend their home court in the next game, it may be difficult to win this series.
However, Shen Fei is still more optimistic about the Mavericks so far.
After all, judging from the game situation, the Lakers adopted short rotations and "fucked" Kobe to death to win the game.
In comparison, the Mavericks have more players and their offense is more reasonable.
And... Nowitzki's performance today can only be said to be good.
But in the original time and space, King Nuo Tian almost carried every game when it came to key matches.
[In the next game, you may be able to see Nowitzki in super form...]
Shen Fei thought to himself.
The game is over, and Shen Fei plans to go home and rest.
But just as he was about to get up and leave the box, his cell phone rang.
When I looked at the number, it turned out to be Durst.
"Boss, Nike hired a private detective to investigate me!"
Durst said straight to the point.
He used to do dirty work for Nike.
Durst has been involved in many gray areas, and his anti-reconnaissance capabilities are much stronger than ordinary people, so he soon found that he was being followed.
"You mean, they might know that you defected to Under Armor?"
Shen Fei asked.
"99%, after all, it's not difficult to find out, and we didn't deliberately hide anything."
Durst replied.
"Then what? What do you want to say?"
Shen Fei said calmly.
"em...you asked me that, but I didn't know what to say for a moment. I was just a little worried that Nike would retaliate."
"After all, Stern didn't tolerate them at all in the selection of MVP awards a while ago."
Durst said with worry.
"Retaliation?" Shen Fei was stunned when he heard this, and then he couldn't help laughing and said: "If the sky falls, it will be me who is holding it up, so you can just settle down and do your own thing."
What Durst did before was certainly not glorious, but it was just a crime.
Nike simply cannot use legal means to sanction Durst, let alone retaliate against Under Armor.
If Nike wants to use "other" means, Shen Fei is more than welcome to do so.
As a time traveler, he has too many ideas in his mind that can be used as responses.
If Nike always plays by the rules, it will be difficult to operate.
When Durst saw that Shen Fei was so calm, the tension in his heart also dissipated a lot.
"Boss, what should I do next?"
Durst asked.
"Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin's signature shoes will be available soon."
"You have been operating for such a long time before, so you don't need me to teach you how to do it, right?"
Shen Fei said lightly.
"Okay! Don't worry, boss, I promise to do everything beautifully!"
"Lampard is pretty good, but he lacks experience. I will help him make the next announcement as perfect as possible."
Durst said confidently.
"Okay, I'll wait for your good news."
After saying that, Shen Fei hung up the phone.
Durst has an average personality, but his work ability is still worthy of recognition.
In addition, he has just signed a long-term contract with Under Armor, so there is no need to worry about him betraying him.
Shen Fei also hopes to use this former Nike backbone to bring Under Armor's performance to a higher level.
After finishing all this, Shen Fei drove back to his mansion, washed up and rested.
...........
After the two battles in the Western Conference, the fans were in awe, and they were discussing it crazily on major social platforms.
As the league's leader, the Rockets, in addition to the loyal fans in the past, now also have many so-called "winners."
After the number of fans surged, the Rockets' post-game discussions became particularly lively.
In the nba section of reddit (an entertainment, social and news website), a netizen nicknamed "Shen Fei's lackey" posted: "Do you still need to watch the Rockets game? I woke up with another victory! I just I wonder if the Thunder can win a game from the Rockets?"
"The Thunder actually played pretty well this game. Kevin, Russell, and James all played at their own level. But the problem is that the depth of the Rockets' lineup is so terrible. If you just put anyone on the bench, it feels like the Thunder can solve it." No."
"I feel the same way! I remember some time ago, didn't Jeremy Lin fall out of the rotation? Why did he become so strong after not seeing each other for a while? The part where he competed with Westbrook in the second quarter, give me I’m stunned!”
"I think other teams need to find a private detective or something to investigate how the Rockets usually train. Another Chinese player, Yi Jianlian, almost stopped playing with the Wizards at the beginning of the season, but now he can contribute steadily once he plays. The projection is as if it’s a different person!”
"The Rockets continue their winning streak in the playoffs. I think if the Thunder want to win, all three of them have to perform extremely well. Everyone is like that..."
"Traditional Tracy McGrady's firepower, Durant can barely offset it. Westbrook and Curry clash with each other, Harden... He has to offset it with Yao Ming, Griffin, George Roy... It's impossible even if you think about it. ."
...
Fans had different opinions. Later, even Rockets fans began to help the Thunder think of ways to win the next game.
It can only be said that the pressure of this Rockets team is too strong.
Durant scored 32 points in this game, Westbrook scored 23 points, and Harden also scored 21 points...
Three people scored 76 points, but the Thunder still ended in a disastrous defeat, which can't help but make people feel a little disappointed.
Of course, for Rockets fans, this feeling of crushing is very satisfying.
Some fans are so arrogant that they think even the Rockets' second lineup can beat the Thunder.
Such an idea fell into the ears of Thunder fans, and they were naturally very angry.
But when I think about the fact that even if the Rockets remove the starting lineup, they can still put together a strong lineup like Lowry, Roy, Danny Green, Ben Wallace, and Oden, they really don't have any confidence to refute!
A fan posted a question: "Why can the Rockets bring so many outstanding players together and still not exceed the luxury line?"
Well-known ESPN commentator A-Smith personally answered the post:
"It's very simple... this year's new MVP McGrady signed with the Rockets in the offseason for a minimum salary, Ben Wallace also received a veteran's minimum salary, and young people like Curry and Griffin are still on rookie contracts."
"To put it simply, the Rockets can have the current configuration because there is no poisonous contract in the team. Oh no, it should be said that the team is full of high-quality 'cabbage price' contracts!"
"So, other teams should not despair. After this season, these players who have played for their worth may not stay with the Rockets."
A-Smith's words immediately sparked widespread discussion.
Many Rockets fans who understand football have actually realized this for a long time.
Some "simple" fans found it difficult to accept this information.
"Isn't it? I thought the Rockets dynasty was already a certainty? A-Smith, does this mean...the current lineup can only last for one season? Are the Rockets going to tear down and rebuild again in the offseason?"
"I have just fallen in love with this gorgeous Rockets, and you are telling me that the team will be disbanded after the season? I can't accept it!!!"
"Upstairs, let me tell you another bad news. Shen Fei said in an interview before that he will reuse Chinese players next season, and will even introduce some more Chinese players on the basis of Yao, Yi, and Lin."
"Oh, it's over. Are there any NBA-level players in China? Apart from the three of them, I only know one named... I think his name is... Wang Zhizhi? But his level is obviously not comparable to the NBA!"
"No matter what, players who are still on rookie contracts will definitely not leave, so Curry, Griffin, and George will definitely be there. Shen Fei wants to train Chinese players, so Dayao will definitely stay. There are such people, The Rockets will definitely not be weak next season!"
"Upstairs! Believe in the Rockets, believe in Shen Fei! No matter how bad the situation is, can it be worse than last June? Shen Fei will definitely handle the matter well. As fans, we can just enjoy the game!"
............
In addition to discussions about the Rockets and Thunder, the battle between the Lakers and the Mavericks also aroused heated discussion.
"Don't underestimate the heart of a championship. The Lakers have gone through the slump at the beginning of the season, and now they are back as kings! I think a healthy Purple and Gold Army will be the Rockets' biggest opponent in the Western Conference!"
"You can always trust Kobe! He has been completing buzzer-beating shots like this throughout his entire career!"
"Back, everything is back... After recovering from his knee injury, Kobe has returned to his peak state. He is still the strongest player in the league! This buzzer-beater is his declaration of return!"
"I can't wait to see the matchup between Tracy McGrady and Kobe! The four shooting guards meet at the top, what kind of fairy script is this!"
...
In general, after the Lakers defeated the Mavericks in their first away game, fans basically believed that the Lakers would easily defeat the Mavericks and join the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals!
These comments quickly gained momentum.
In a hotel conference room in Dallas, the Mavericks gathered together.
Just after losing the game, they spontaneously organized a video analysis meeting.
Having just finished analyzing the first half of the game, Terry checked his cell phone for a while during the break and saw the discussion among the fans.
"It seems that everyone thinks we are destined to lose..."
Terry said with a half-smile, and then read a few comments to his teammates.
After he finished speaking, the expressions of several Mavericks players obviously changed.
Head coach Carlisle knows that everyone is holding back a fire right now, but now is not the time to be angry.
"Okay, bring your attention back and let's continue analyzing the video."
"What others say is none of our business."
"The only important thing is... in the next game, we must defend our home court!"
Carlisle said seriously.
Everyone nodded and continued watching the video.
............
The next day, the second round of the Eastern Conference continues!