After the steal, Adrian not only successfully caused a foul on Rajon Rondo, but also made a three-pointer.
Four points!
"Yes!" Adrian waved his arms vigorously. Although the boos at TD North Shore Garden were like a stormy sea, among the boos, Adrian felt more excitement than in a normal arena.
"The more they boo me, the more it means they are afraid of me." Bathed in the boos, Adrian became more confident and arrogant.
"Don't be discouraged. There is still a big gap between you and him. Be careful next time. Play more calmly and don't get fooled by this guy." Pierce comforted the depressed Rajon Rondo.
Adrian's free throw shooting percentage has always been quite good. Adrian was not willing to let go of this opportunity to score points easily. The basketball was steadily sent into the basket by Adrian.
In the next game, Adrian performed better and better. After hitting the three-pointer that made four points, Adrian could feel that his touch suddenly arrived today. It came without any warning, and then he
He made five consecutive three-pointers and hit three of them. After breaking through the free throw line, he made three fadeaway jumpers and hit two of them. He also caused a defensive foul on Pierce who was covering the defense and made two free throws.
Scored 19 consecutive points in just four minutes.
Once Adrian decided to start shooting three-pointers from the outside, Rajon Rondo's defense was unable to have any impact on Adrian. The full 18-centimeter height gap between 185 centimeters and 203 centimeters made Adrian
He was able to work on top of Rajon Rondo without any interference, and his touch was really good today. Even if Pierce, who was on defense, put his palms on Adrian's eyes, he still couldn't stop him from continuing.
Score.
At the end of the first quarter, when Adrian came off the court, he had scored 22 points in a single quarter, and the Lakers were only two points behind the Celtics at 36:34, and the situation returned to a situation where the two sides were almost the same.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Adrian was put off the court. Adrian didn't know how Phil Jackson was doing Kobe's ideological work off the court, but he could see that at the beginning of the second quarter, Kobe's real thoughts after coming on the court.
He changed his playing style, no longer obsessed with frequent individual singles, but began to implement the Lakers' tactics effectively.
In the first quarter, Pau Gasol, who had almost no performance on the offensive end because he didn't have the ball, finally came to life. Although Kevin Garnett still took great care of his defense, as the best player in the league,
After all, one of the best power forwards, Pau Gasol, cannot be completely restricted by anyone. Even if Kevin Garnett is indeed better than Pau Gasol, the excellent ones are also very limited.
It may be more than one level, so it is completely impossible to lock down Pau Gasol.
After getting over the initial discomfort with Garnett's defense, Pau Gasol's performance became significantly sharper in the second quarter. And he began to use the only offensive advantage he could find on Garnett, which was his solid solidity.
footwork.
Players from Europe all have this characteristic, because they are players from European leagues that pay attention to basic skills and teamwork. Even after entering the NBA, compared to American basketball players, European players have a strong sense of teamwork and teamwork.
He has some advantages in basic skills. As one of the top power forwards in the league, Pau Gasol, who comes from Spain, certainly cannot be inferior in this aspect.
However, the effect cannot be said to be very good.
In the Celtics, Garnett has a completely different advantage than in the Timberwolves. That is, the teammates around him are more than one level better. This allows Garnett to devote all his energy to defense when necessary.
, and he himself is also a person who is willing to make sacrifices for the team as a whole for the sake of the championship. Although Pau Gasol found several offensive tricks in Garnett, he still has to defeat Garnett.
It is undoubtedly a fantasy, and it is even more difficult to have a huge impact on the overall situation of the game.
But at this time, another person's explosion truly relieved the pressure on Pau Gasol.
After a series of struggles in the first quarter and a cold bench at the end of the first quarter, Kobe's hand finally started to get hotter.
He first shot three three-pointers from the outside. The first shot hit. The second shot was still in the same position but missed the basket. The third time, he shot a three-pointer from the same position again and still missed the basket.
The basket, but this time, Kobe successfully found a foul on Ray Allen, making only one of three shots, three of three free throws, and scored six points. Then Kobe began to drive towards the inside, passing by once
Ray Allen then faced Paul Pierce who rushed forward. Kobe stepped back and hit a fadeaway jumper. Then he once again reached the inside and was almost forced out of the baseline by Garnett in an extremely weird and non-standard posture.
Throwing the basketball. Garnett's defense was at its best, but everyone could see that Kobe just threw the basketball casually in search of a foul shot, but it went straight into the net.
After this difficult goal, Kobe's hand was completely ignited.
When a player like Kobe becomes hot, it may not be impossible to stop him, but it must be extremely difficult.
Adrian was then replaced on the court. Phil Jackson emphasized that his purpose of replacing Adrian was to consolidate the Lakers' defense and increase outside firepower. This emphasis also made Adrian understand that the ball possession in this quarter was
It's not his own. Kobe's touch continues to be hot. On the court, he feels as if he can score any score he wants.
At the end of the first half, as Kobe Bryant hit the last three-pointer at the buzzer, the two teams were tied at 61:61. Kobe, who was constantly struggling in the first quarter, shot 7 of 10 from the field in the second quarter.
He made 2 of 4 field goals and 5 of 5 free throws, scoring 21 points in a single quarter. However, in the entire second quarter, the Lakers only scored a total of 30 points.
In the third quarter, the Celtics decisively adjusted their defensive strategy. At the beginning of the second half, the Celtics' already very tough defense became even more tenacious, not letting go of any ball easily. Adrian continued to be beaten
Fixed at the small forward position, mainly taking care of Paul Pierce.
Today, Paul Pierce was taken care of by Adrian quite timidly. On the offensive end, his good low-post footwork was not easy to use in front of Adrian. With the strength and tonnage that are not inferior to Paul Pierce, Adrian
He can easily get stuck in a favorable position on the defensive end. He tried to cause a foul on Adrian, but Adrian, who has rarely pursued blocking data, simply did not block shots in this game, but always kept up with Paul Pierce.
High-intensity physical confrontation and interference.
It is already very difficult for Paul Pierce to constantly deal with the direct confrontation with Adrian, and it is even more difficult to perform on the offensive end. Up to now, Paul Pierce has only taken 6 shots.
He only scored 8 points after hitting 2 free throws. It can be said that he was the worst performer among the Big Three in this game. If it weren't for Garnett's continuous efficient performance on both ends of the offense and defense in the interior, if it weren't for Ray Allen's performance today
The three-point shooting from the outside is also very accurate, and the Celtics have long gone from leading to falling behind.
As far as Paul Pierce's own feelings are concerned, he also feels that he did not play well today. On the defensive end, Adrian was like an octopus, pestering him crazily, not only interfering with his shooting, but also blocking him.
His breakthrough made it difficult for him to even easily catch the ball.
"Beep beep..."
After another violent physical contact, Adrian suddenly fell to the ground. The referee blew his whistle without hesitation, indicating that Paul Pierce had committed an offensive foul. The video replay also showed that Paul Pierce's elbow hit Adrian.
on the chin.
"I didn't, he brought his face up on purpose." Paul Pierce, who had a very rough fight today, immediately roared at the referee. Such behavior made the referee give Paul Pierce a technical without hesitation.
foul.
Even in the NBA, which pays attention to the home whistle, some things have not changed. This is the case for this game, because this game has received a series of hype from the league, causing the game's attention to skyrocket. The result is,
In such a game, every detail will inevitably be carefully scrutinized under the microscope, and every issue will be investigated very severely after the game.
As a result, referees must also be under tremendous pressure. No matter what thoughts they have in their hearts, in such a game, they must maintain the fairness and impartiality of penalties to the greatest extent, and be more responsive to players' provocations.
It cannot be tolerated at all, because it is directly related to their jobs.
Paul Pierce's face darkened completely after he was called for a technical foul. He widened his eyes, whistled at the referee, and clapped his hands.
"Blows beautifully."
"Beep~~~" There was no other choice. The referee did not hesitate to blow the whistle for the second technical foul and directly ejected Paul Pierce.
"Pull him down quickly. Does this guy want to be suspended?" Seeing that Paul Pierce was still unrelenting, Rivers finally couldn't bear it anymore. He shouted at other players on the field, and then
Yelled at Paul Pierce: "Paul, come down right now and go back to the locker room, right now!" (To be continued...)
ps: ps. I have been extremely uncomfortable these past two days. First I had a headache, then a stomachache. During the day, I was covered with two quilts and sweated all over. The headache was gone, but my stomach hurt even more... The weather is getting colder, so everyone should put on more clothes.
