In the second quarter, the Lakers sent out a lineup of Farmar, Zhang Zhiyuan, Ariza, Odom, and Kwame Brown. The Celtics had Cassell, Ray Allen, Posey, Pierce, and Perkins.
Tony Allen was abandoned by Rivers because of his poor performance in defending Zhang Zhiyuan, which slowed down his rise to fame.
If Zhang Zhiyuan hadn't just changed his playing style, based on Tony Allen's performance in the Finals, the salary in the next contract would have definitely increased.
It's hard to say now. The Celtics are unlikely to pay too much luxury tax for someone who can't play a decisive role.
The Lakers attacked first, and Zhang Zhiyuan continued to go to the basket.
The bonus brought by props is very large. At this time, the efficiency at the basket is higher than shooting from outside.
Coming to the basket, Ray Allen defended.
Soon Ray Allen discovered that Zhang Zhiyuan's strength far exceeded that of Kobe, and even slightly better than James.
Ray Allen was surprised. After all, the previous analysis report on Zhang Zhiyuan focused on speed but did not mention strength.
Ray Allen was pushed away, and then Zhang Zhiyuan turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper.
This is Kobe's style of play, and Ray Allen is very familiar with it.
But it was familiar. At this time, it was too late for him to pounce on him and jump up, so he could only extend his hand symbolically.
The ball goes in.
When the Celtics attacked, Ray Allen sadly discovered that Zhang Zhiyuan was not only powerful but also fast.
His previous moves could occasionally get rid of Kobe, but it was almost impossible to get rid of Zhang Zhiyuan.
Facing Zhang Zhiyuan's defense, Ray Allen couldn't find an open opportunity.
As for a hard fight?
Ray Allen has no such idea.
As a result, the burden of offense fell on Pierce and Posey.
Pierce beat Odom in isolation under the basket, and the effect was relatively average.
Because of the presence of Zhang Zhiyuan and Kobe Bryant, Odom is easily overlooked.
But in fact, his current strength is not weak at all. He can defend most No. 4 positions, his speed is comparable to that of some small forwards, and he has no shortage of technical experience.
Therefore, Pierce did not take advantage and almost missed the shot.
Perkins grabbed the offensive rebound and then prepared for a second takeoff.
Kwame Brown stayed close to him to prevent him from jumping, while Zhang Zhiyuan dropped Ray Allen and retracted inside to prepare for rebounds.
He felt that Perkins didn't have the ability to pass the ball to the outside, so he didn't need to worry about Ray Allen anymore.
Sure enough, Perkins chose to take action himself.
It's only possible that under Kwame Brown's defense, his shooting posture was crooked.
The ball missed, Zhang Zhiyuan squeezed past Pierce and grabbed the rebound in the crowd.
"Zhang played like a power forward today."
Smith complained.
"He can play power forward, and he has played power forward."
Buckley said.
When Zhang Zhiyuan first joined the Rockets last season, he often played as a power forward and his performance was not bad.
During the transition between offense and defense, Zhang Zhiyuan caught the ball under the basket and was double-teamed by Ray Allen and Pierce.
If they can't prevent it by themselves, they have to resort to this useless method.
Then Zhang Zhiyuan chose to pass the ball.
Odom made a jump shot after receiving the ball and hit the ball.
Rivers almost burst into tears when he saw this.
Zhang Zhiyuan is so damn versatile. He can attack and defend, inside and outside, shoot and pass. How should he fight against this?
The Celtics attacked and Posey took a shot from the bottom corner.
He was lucky and scored.
It's a pity that he stepped on the line and only scored two points.
Of course, two points is not bad. With the Celtics' current situation, it is not easy to score a goal.
When the Lakers attacked, Zhang Zhiyuan did not go to the basket to grab the ball immediately, but caught the ball at the three-point line.
Ray Allen defended, and then Zhang Zhiyuan started a breakthrough, passing Ray Allen in one step and reaching the basket.
Perkins was on defense, but Zhang Zhiyuan was still a little far away from the basket. There were many choices in front of him.
You can throw, you can pass, you can also stop and play from behind.
Zhang Zhiyuan chose to pass the ball to Kwame Brown, who was open. Unfortunately, Kwame Brown was a little nervous. Maybe he didn't expect that he would also get a chance to shoot in the finals.
Kwame Brown's posture when shooting is not very standard, but because he is closer to the basket, the problem should not be a big problem.
It's a pity that Kwame Brown is not lucky yet.
The basketball bounced on the rim a few times and finally fell to the outside.
Everyone jumped up to grab the rebound, and Zhang Zhiyuan was no exception.
Relying on the bonus of his sense of smell for rebounds, he was the first among a group of big men to encounter the basketball and won it.
Then Zhang Zhiyuan took off for the second time and made a small jump shot.
His touch is much softer than Kwame Brown's, so this distance is in vain.
The ball goes in.
"Is Zhang humiliating the Celtics? He is telling the Celtics in this way that there are many ways for him to defeat the Celtics, including not shooting three-pointers."
Buckley guessed what Zhang Zhiyuan was thinking.
This kind of speculation is outrageous, but when it comes to Zhang Zhiyuan, it seems to have a little bit of credibility.
After the Lakers scored this goal, the score difference reached 12 points, and the Celtics players began to feel frustrated and discouraged.
They knew very well that this game was their last battle, and they could not win the game because they had nothing to do against Zhang Zhiyuan.
Standing on tiptoe hurts someone?
There might have been a chance before, but now Zhang Zhiyuan has changed to an inside style of play, making it even more difficult to stand on tiptoe.
Besides, no one wants to take the lead.
The team benefits from standing on tiptoe, but the responsibility lies with the individual.
This is the finals, and Zhang Zhiyuan is the popular star...
The Celtics attacked, and Pierce made a casual shot, which was very simple.
The ball didn't go in.
On the other hand, the Lakers were full of momentum. After Ariza got the open space, he even took the initiative to ask for the ball and then hit a three-pointer.
Anyway, even if the shot fails, Zhang Zhiyuan still has to grab the rebound, so what does it matter?
Even if Zhang Zhiyuan can't grab a rebound, the team still has a huge lead. What does it matter?
28 to 43, the Celtics trailed by 15 points.
The Celtics fans in front of the TV were speechless, and some hardcore fans even shed tears.
They all know that the team is going to lose.
On the court, Garnett, who had just been substituted, was still working hard.
Of course, he also knows that the team is at a huge disadvantage, and he also knows that the team has no hope.
However, showing frustration will not help the team or the individual. It is better to show a spirit of never admitting defeat and never giving up.
In this way, you can still lose the game without losing to others.
As a result, when everyone else was already feeling depressed, Garnett was very active and iron-blooded.
For just a common foul on Odom, Garnett punched his chest so hard that those who didn't know thought he had knocked Odom off the court.
The Celtics served again, and the basketball circled into Garnett's hands, and then Garnett made an ordinary big jump shot.
He can play a role of never giving up, but he cannot play a role of saving the team.
There is only so much strength, and acting cannot improve it.
The basketball hit the rim and Kwame Brown took off the backboard.
Then Kobe, Bynum and other main players were replaced, and the Celtics' situation became even more difficult.
When the Lakers attacked, Zhang Zhiyuan attracted the opponent's defensive attention under the basket. Kobe took the opportunity to sneak in and dunk to score two points.
After Kobe became the team boss, there was almost no such opportunity. He was always the one being targeted.
But now, he has been ignored.
After Kobe noticed this, he felt mixed emotions in his heart. He didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
After all, this phenomenon illustrates the fact that in the eyes of the Celtics, Zhang Zhiyuan is already more terrifying than him.
The Celtics attacked and Ray Allen singled out Kobe. This move once again made Kobe angry.
When Zhang Zhiyuan was defending just now, Ray Allen was not seen playing in singles. Now it is his turn to defend, and Ray Allen chose to play in singles. What does this mean?
This actually doesn't mean anything. Ray Allen just saw his teammates not attacking and reluctantly took the responsibility.
But at this time, Kobe was too sensitive and directly interpreted it as Ray Allen bullying the weak and afraid of the strong.
Kobe, on the other hand, is the soft one.
Kobe directly fouled Ray Allen and pushed him off the court.
Ray Allen was a little confused.
The team behind them is not in a hurry. What level is Kobe comparing to?
The whistle sounded and the referee called Kobe a foul.
Because the team had four fouls, Ray Allen went to the free throw line and made two free throws.
"Kobe's choice was unnecessary and gave the opponent two points in vain."
Zhang Lili complained.
"You are right, there is no need for them to provoke a conflict if they are in the lead."
Sun Zhengping echoed.
On the court, the Lakers were attacking, and Zhang Zhiyuan kept attacking. Pierce couldn't bear it, so he hugged Zhang Zhiyuan's waist and fell backwards.
This kind of action harms others and is not beneficial to oneself, and is also an unnecessary move.
But it's obvious that the Celtics players are already angry.
The referee called Pierce a flagrant foul. Rondo and Garnett immediately refused and chased the referee to protest.
Why is Kobe's foul a common foul and Pierce's foul a flagrant foul? This is unfair.
This is indeed a bit unfair. Jackson was too embarrassed to defend himself, while Rivers was so excited that he felt like he had been greatly wronged.
In the end, the penalty was not changed. After all, the referee needed to maintain his authority.
However, this penalty may cause controversy after the game, which is also a big loss for them.
After all, if a referee makes too many controversial penalties, his law enforcement qualification may be revoked.
When the game resumed, Zhang Zhiyuan went to the free throw line and made two free throws. Then the Lakers still had the ball.
The Lakers took advantage, but Jackson was not happy at all. He would rather not have these two points. Anyway, the win was not short of these two points.
On the contrary, Jackson was still angry.
Originally, this game could have been won in a bright and normal way.
But because this penalty gave Celtic fans an excuse, the Celtics would definitely be dissatisfied after the game.
Although this kind of dissatisfaction is harmless, if possible, Jackson still hopes to convince his opponent.
It was Kobe who caused all of this, and it was hard for Jackson to criticize, so he had no choice but to endure it.
The game continued, the Celtics attacked, and their actions became much rougher.
Before, they were worried that they would be penalized by the referee if they moved too much, but now they no longer care. They will lose anyway, so they might as well lose happily.
Pierce slapped the basketball with one hand, put his elbow on Zhang Zhiyuan's chest, and then arched it under the basket.
Zhang Zhiyuan took a step back and did not bear it forcefully. There was no need.
Pierce jumped, shot, and hit.
It's not a big problem, 38 to 54, the Lakers still lead by 16 points.
During the transition between offense and defense, Zhang Zhiyuan threw a three-pointer from the outside but missed.
The Celtics counterattacked, and Ray Allen failed to score a three-pointer.
The two sides played back and forth for several rounds. The Lakers' scoring efficiency declined, but the Celtics' offensive efficiency did not improve.
Therefore, the two sides fought 50-50 at the end of the second quarter, and the Lakers still firmly held the absolute lead.
At the end of the first half, 46 to 63, the Lakers led by 17 points.
During the halftime break, league staff were already preparing for the awards ceremony to be held later.
Of course, this is not disrespectful to the Celtics, but if you don’t prepare in advance, it’s easy for things to go wrong when awarding the award later.
As long as a team obtains a match point, the league will immediately conduct rehearsals to be prepared.
tnt.
Smith chatted: "Charles, do you think the Celtics still have a chance to reverse? A little bit counts."
"No, no, no, they have no chance, not at all."
Barkley was not afraid of being slapped in the face and spoke very decisively.
"It seems that the fans at the scene agree with you. They look like the team has won the championship. It will be interesting if there is some miracle later."
Smith said.
The halftime break is not long, but Lakers fans feel that today's break is very long. They can't wait to start the second half of the game, defeat their opponents as soon as possible, and win the damn championship.
Of course, the time did not become longer, and the second half of the game started not long after.
The faces of the Celtics players seemed to have regained some fighting spirit. I wonder if Rivers fed them chicken soup during the halftime break.
"Eternal God Emperor"
But Zhang Zhiyuan doesn't care, he won't give his opponent a chance to create miracles.
When the game started, the Celtics attacked first.
Posey threw a three-pointer as soon as he came up. It seemed that he wanted to gamble on his touch and risk his life against the Lakers.
The ball goes in.
Percy waved his fist and then quickly defended himself.
When the Lakers attacked, Zhang Zhiyuan used his nimble steps to shake Pierce away from the basket, and then scored two points with an ordinary jump shot.
His personal score has reached 22, the highest in the game.
The Celtics attacked, Ray Allen threw a three-pointer, but the ball missed.
There was chaos under the basket. Everyone was scrambling for the rebound. Garnett took advantage of his height and long arms to grab the rebound.
However, he was trapped in a double team and lost the chance to attack again.
Garnett passed the ball to the outside, and Rondo received the ball about one step inside the three-point line. There were no defenders in front of him, and they were all piled under the basket.
Rondo hesitated for a moment, then chose to take action.
The ball missed and the fans at the scene almost laughed out loud.
Bynum protected the backcourt rebound, and the Celtics players quickly returned to defense.
Their worries were somewhat unnecessary. The Lakers had no plans to play a fast break. After all, Zhang Zhiyuan was also under the basket at this time.
