Bynum won the jump ball and the Lakers attacked first.
Kobe didn't take his opponent to heart. After catching the ball, he made a simple jump shot, as if he was trying his hand.
The ball didn't go in.
When the Timberwolves attacked, McCann just threw a three-pointer, which was very simple.
The Timberwolves players all know that this season will most likely be a failure.
Therefore, they care more about their own data than the team's victory.
The ball missed and Al Jefferson grabbed an offensive rebound.
Odom and Bynum surrounded Al Jefferson. In desperation, Jefferson had no choice but to give up his plan to shoot and pass the ball out to the outside.
McCann made another three-point shot and scored.
Zhang Zhiyuan glanced at Kobe, and Kobe was very unhappy.
He was always the only one who glared at others, but he didn't expect to be stared at now.
But he couldn't get angry because the ball just now was indeed his defensive responsibility.
The Lakers attack and Odom shoots.
The Timberwolves counterattacked and Al Jefferson scored a layup.
0 to 5, the Lakers started behind.
However, most of the commentators and fans didn't pay much attention, as the game had just begun.
"Maybe they haven't gotten used to the Minnesota weather."
The commentary is even in a humorous mood.
On the court, the Lakers attacked, and Zhang Zhiyuan's shot was interfered by Gomez and missed.
Gomez's defense is actually average, relying on positivity.
Zhang Zhiyuan's goal was mainly due to his poor touch.
The Timberwolves attacked, and Telfair used a little flexibility to get past Fisher and score a layup.
Fisher is better at defending those strong point guards, and even shooting guards are no problem, but he is also afraid of those who are fast.
0 to 7.
"Cheer up."
Kobe yelled at the crowd.
Not long after the roar, Kobe took action and Zhang Zhiyuan almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
Kobe, on the other hand, didn't think there was anything wrong with him and retreated without changing his expression.
The Timberwolves missed the attack.
Then Zhang Zhiyuan broke through Gomez, went to the basket and caused a foul on Ratliff, and scored 2 points with free throws.
2 to 7, the Lakers finally opened the game.
During the transition between offense and defense, Gomez moved, but Zhang Zhiyuan failed to keep up.
The Timberwolves are a bad team, and he is also a little lax without knowing it.
Not only him, but Kobe and others more or less underestimated the enemy.
Gomez scored, and the commentators began to sense something was wrong.
"The Lakers played a little loosely."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kobe took a mid-range shot, and it was like a slap on the commentator's face.
Even if he is in poor condition, Kobe can still score points.
4 to 9.
When the Timberwolves attacked, Al Jefferson fought hard to gain position under the basket, squeezed Odom away, received the ball, and scored a small jump shot.
4 to 11.
After scoring, Jefferson, Gomez and others roared with excitement.
They themselves didn't expect that they could compete like this with the league's strong teams.
Seeing the hope of winning, they unconsciously worked harder.
After all, winning against the Lakers is also a very honorable thing.
When the Lakers attacked, Kobe was a little anxious and took action.
The Timberwolves counterattacked and advanced again.
4 to 13.
Phil Jackson did not call a timeout. He wanted to see how Zhang Zhiyuan and others would deal with this situation.
During the transition between offense and defense, Zhang Zhiyuan broke through and scored. Bynum caught the ball and made a layup, but was pulled down by Ratliff.
Bynum made one of two free throws.
In the transition between offense and defense, Zhang Zhiyuan increased his defensive intensity.
This is what you must do when you feel bad. Try to reduce your opponent's score as much as possible. Don't let your opponent get up and hit the climax, otherwise it will be easy to widen the point difference.
Gomez also wanted to throw a three-pointer, but Zhang Zhiyuan rushed to interfere, but the ball missed.
Bynum grabbed a backcourt rebound and the Lakers counterattacked.
On the offensive end, Zhang Zhiyuan burst into the Timberwolves' interior to cause damage.
Al Jefferson's player fouled and Zhang Zhiyuan went to the free throw line again.
Fortunately, his free throws are still so stable.
Two free throws were made, 7-13, and the point difference returned to the safety line.
During the transition between offense and defense, the high-spirited Timberwolves took advantage of the Lakers' defensive loopholes. Al Jefferson took the ball and was double-teamed, and then passed it to McCann on the outside.
McCann hit a three-pointer.
Although the Timberwolves are all unknowns with poor statistics, an important reason why these people had poor statistics in the past was that they did not have the right to take shots.
In fact, their shooting percentages are not much lower than those of those stars.
Kobe shot 46.3% last season and McCann shot 45.3% last season, which is not much different.
Although the intensity of the defenses faced by the two men is vastly different, their shooting percentages are similar in open situations.
7 to 16.
The Lakers attack and Kobe strikes again.
He was indeed a little out of shape today. I don't know if it was because he was overworked last night, or because the weather in Minnesota was too cold, or because it was a normal low tide.
"*****"
Kobe muttered a few words to himself, and you could tell from his expression that what he said was not good.
Back on the defensive end, Kobe was very clean and didn't catch McCann's ball.
Telfair hit a jump shot.
The Lakers counterattacked, Kobe was heavily guarded, Fisher was missed, Fisher stole one and hit.
9 to 16.
The two sides continued to fight for several rounds, and the Lakers slowly chased back with their superior strength.
By the time of the first timeout, the Lakers were only two points behind.
However, with Kwame Brown and Ariza coming on the court, the Lakers experienced a power outage for several minutes, and were beaten by the Timberwolves to a small climax.
With two minutes left in the first quarter, Zhang Zhiyuan came off the court to rest.
The Lakers trailed by 8 points when he came off the court, and he didn't play well either, scoring only 4 points.
Kobe played the entire first quarter and performed very poorly, scoring only 6 points on 3 of 10 shots.
18 to 29, the Lakers trailed by 11 points.
"Zhang, you can go directly to the second quarter and play more games."
Phil Jackson said.
This game is actually very important for the Lakers, because they have a record goal this season and must finish first in the Western Conference so that they can have home court advantage in the playoffs.
If possible, it would be best to finish first in the league.
To achieve this, you must not overturn when playing against a weak team.
You need to try your best to win all the games that should be won.
Zhang Zhiyuan nodded.
In the second quarter, Zhang Zhiyuan moved to the shooting guard and led Farmar, Walton, Turiaf, and Kwame Brown to play.
The Timberwolves also have some substitutes, but the strength gap between their substitutes and the main force is very small.
Craig, Buckner, Brewer, Gerald Green, Antoine Walker.
Although the lineup is not very reasonable, every position has scoring ability.
The Timberwolves attacked first, and Walker just blindly threw a three-pointer, but he scored.
Fortunately, the Timberwolves' defense is very poor, whether starting or coming off the bench. This is also a common problem for weak teams.
On the offensive end, players will work hard to improve their statistics.
It's not fun to work hard on the defensive end, everyone is too lazy to do it.
Zhang Zhiyuan threw the attribute chain on Craig, who hated him the most, and then passed Craig in one step, as if there was no one in the field, and scored a layup.
"Why are you still on the bench? I have become a star."
Zhang Zhiyuan said mockingly.
These words were so heartbreaking that Craig lowered his head and walked away.
Last season he ridiculed Zhang Zhiyuan for being an undrafted player, but now Zhang Zhiyuan has become the league's top star.
Maximum salary, historic star endorsements, championship...
And he is still the rookie. Even if Garnett leaves, he has not yet made it into the starting lineup.
In the transition from offense to defense, Gerrard passed Turiaf and dunked.
The Lakers counterattacked, and Zhang Zhiyuan continued to bully Craig.
Brewer helped double-team, Zhang Zhiyuan scored the ball, and Kwame Brown hit a layup.
The two sides fought back and forth for several minutes, 28 to 35, and the Lakers recovered a few points.
Then, Kobe Bryant, Fisher, and Odom came on the court, and Zhang Zhiyuan returned to the small forward position.
The Timberwolves also became the main force.
Kobe, who was holding back his anger, hit a 21 as soon as he came up.
However, his form was not continued, and he missed two more shots.
Kobe realized that he seemed to have thrown too much, and then he passed two passes to Zhang Zhiyuan.
He has not forgotten the agreement between the two of them, and he will pass five passes to Zhang Zhiyuan on average per game.
Zhang Zhiyuan took the ball and made one of two shots.
As the game continued, Zhang Zhiyuan and Kobe Bryant's touch gradually recovered, and then they took more shots.
First Kobe Bryant swung, and then Zhang Zhiyuan swung. The two scored 12 points together, leading to a 12-6 run and another six points.
At the end of the first half, the two teams were tied at 50 to 50.
The Lakers are definitely dissatisfied with this result, and they really shouldn't be so anxious against the Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves are not satisfied either. Originally they were in the lead, but now they have lost their advantage.
In the second half, Kobe originally wanted to quickly establish an advantage and win the game steadily.
Unexpectedly, the Timberwolves players collectively broke out.
First, Jefferson scored 21 under the basket, and then Gomez hit a three-pointer.
Kobe shot a three-pointer and wanted to quickly chase the score, but ended up making a three-pointer.
Zhang Zhiyuan couldn't hold back his laughter, and what was terrible was that Kobe saw him.
Kobe's face suddenly turned darker, as if he had just emerged from a coal well.
Zhang Zhiyuan quickly shut up.
The game continued and the Lakers had a scoring drought.
After getting through this period, the Lakers only played a 50-50 draw with the Timberwolves.
In the third quarter, the Lakers lost again.
After three quarters, 75 to 81, the Timberwolves led by 6 points.
"We're behind."
During the break, Kobe said with a serious face.
Zhang Zhiyuan knew that he was speaking to himself, because he was the only one who had guaranteed not to miss the key moments and had guaranteed to win.
"It's good to be behind, so we can play longer and score more points."
Zhang Zhiyuan smiled.
"Winning is more important."
Kobe reminded.
"Calm down, you are so nervous against a bad team. How can you go to the finals with me to face a strong opponent?"
Kobe was very serious, but Zhang Zhiyuan still had that unattractive look. Kobe wanted to strangle this guy to death on the spot.
The difference between the two people's attitudes towards the game is really huge.
The last quarter started, and Zhang Zhiyuan showed great enthusiasm.
If the feel is not good, increase the number of breakthroughs and cause damage.
Another benefit of Zhang Zhiyuan's frequent breakthroughs is that he forces his opponents to double-team him more frequently. Odom, Kobe and others have gained more opportunities.
The Lakers began to chase points, but the Timberwolves' touch did not decline and they were scoring steadily, so the Lakers' pursuit of points was a bit slow.
In the last two minutes, 100 to 103, the Lakers were still 3 points behind.
When the Lakers attacked, Kobe held the ball and played behind his back, driving inside.
The Timberwolves double-teamed and Kobe Bryant released the ball.
At the critical moment, he made a mistake.
Kobe was furious and quickly pursued the defense.
Unfortunately, it was too late, McCann scored on a fast break.
100 to 105.
Lakers fans began to get really anxious. After all, five points may not seem like much, but it is not easy to catch up.
The Lakers attacked, and Kobe scored two points on McCann alone.
102 to 105.
The Timberwolves began to control the rhythm and delay time.
This move had both advantages and disadvantages. In the end, they ran out of 24 seconds, but also wasted an offensive round.
In the transition between offense and defense, Zhang Zhiyuan broke through for a layup at the critical moment and scored two points.
104 to 105.
The Timberwolves failed to score, but Kobe counterattacked and scored.
106 to 105, the Lakers took the lead.
However, with 12 seconds left in the game, the Timberwolves still had a chance to win.
The Timberwolves attacked, Jefferson grabbed the position inside, Telfair passed the ball, Jefferson took off the ball, and Bynum fouled, sending Jefferson to the free throw line. At the same time, he also committed six fouls.
Lakers fans were so angry that they almost vomited blood.
Kwame Brown was substituted with 8 seconds left.
Jefferson made the first free throw, but the second one was shorter. Everyone scrambled for rebounds.
Kwame Brown was in a better position and got the basketball.
However, the basketball was then slapped by McCann, and Kwame Brown let go.
Kwame Brown was so anxious that he immediately fouled McCann, who went to the free throw line.
"Butter hands get out of the Lakers."
Angry fans have already shouted this sentence in front of the TV.
Making a mistake is not an unforgivable mistake. Every player will make such a mistake. The problem is that Kwame Brown makes a little more mistakes like this, which makes it feel quite unprofessional.
McCann made two free throws and the Timberwolves took the lead by 2 points.
106 to 108, the Lakers were two points behind and the situation was critical.
Jackson called a timeout, and on the bench, Kobe was still angrily complaining about Kwame Brown's mistake: "You brought us to the edge of the cliff."
"Don't get excited, we didn't lose."
Zhang Zhiyuan said.
After saying that, Zhang Zhiyuan patted Kwame Brown again and said: "It doesn't matter, I just want to make a winning shot to show off. Let's see what happens next."
At this moment, Kwame Brown was so moved that he almost cried.
Kobe Bryant stared at Zhang Zhiyuan, and he swore that if Zhang Zhiyuan failed to make that damn buzzer-beater, he would beat Zhang Zhiyuan.
He couldn't accept this kind of joking attitude.
Jackson looked at this scene and didn't say much. He just arranged a receiving tactic for Zhang Zhiyuan.
Afterwards, the two teams returned to the court.
Mimu served, Kobe, Zhang Zhiyuan and others suddenly dispersed, and the Timberwolves quickly caught up.
Then Zhang Zhiyuan received the pass, but he was not in a hurry to take action because there were still 5 seconds left in the game and he could not leave the Timberwolves with a chance to counterattack.
When Jefferson saw that the ball was in Zhang Zhiyuan's hands, he dropped Odom and rushed toward Zhang Zhiyuan.
At the same time, Gomez was also reaching for the ball, trying to harass him.
Zhang Zhiyuan dribbled the ball behind his back, avoided Gomez's dirty hands, and took two steps to the other side.
"What is he doing, waiting for a mistake without taking a shot?"
Lakers fans were anxious and did not understand Zhang Zhiyuan's choice.
Even the commentators are questioning Zhang Zhiyuan's choice.
On the court, Jefferson pounced on him, but Zhang Zhiyuan ducked sideways to avoid Jefferson.
But Jefferson did not give up and continued to press. Gomez also followed up, and the two formed a double-teaming situation, one behind the other.
At this time, the time was less than one second.
Lakers fans simply closed their eyes. At this time, they could no longer pass the ball, they could only shoot.
It was so difficult to hit a three-pointer from a double team that they didn't even dare to hope.
Not to mention the fans, even Kobe lost his confidence and his face was full of anger.
At this time, Zhang Zhiyuan finally took action.
Jefferson bumped into Zhang Zhiyuan, but Zhang Zhiyuan had already taken action.
Jefferson committed a foul, but the referee didn't call it.
But Jefferson was not happy because he saw the basketball fall into the net accurately.
Zhang Zhiyuan used props to hit this shot, and it was very stable.
109 to 108, the Lakers took the lead and Zhang Zhiyuan succeeded in the game.
"Interview, how does it feel to have your hopes dashed?"
Zhang Zhiyuan made an interview gesture and asked Jefferson with a smile.
Jefferson grimaced, this feeling was too uncomfortable.
