There was one minute left on the clock and the Rockets led by 8 points.
Lakers coach D'Antoni felt very depressed. The Lakers played very well for most of the fourth quarter. When Kobe was double-teamed, he passed the ball to Nash. Nash was unguarded and shot as if for fun. Soon
The score difference was chased to 4 points. Unexpectedly, Wen Hao came out at this time and suddenly hit Nash with two big blocks. The Rockets opened the score difference to 8 points again. This meant that the Lakers' efforts for most of the quarter were in vain.
At this time, D'Antoni couldn't think of any other tactics that could catch up to 8 points in one minute. He was a master of fast breaks, and his 7-second offense was lightning fast. But he couldn't do it in positional battles. And at this time, the bayonet was red.
When the time comes, it is the time to fight for position.
With no choice, D'Antoni had no choice but to pin all his hopes on Kobe. In this situation, the only thing to look at is the personal ability of the superstar. And for the Lakers, this superstar is undoubtedly Kobe.
When Kobe saw D'Antoni looking at him, he was not polite. He stood up and looked around like a king who ruled the world. When the surrounding Lakers players saw Kobe's eyes, they all surrendered in their hearts. They knew that at this moment, it must be
Kobe moment.
Kobe Bryant's weapon: "Give me the ball."
The Lakers players all answered Kobe with their eyes. At this moment, they will inevitably put the ball in Kobe's hands. Regardless of success or failure, now is the moment that should belong to Kobe.
Not only the Lakers players, but all the Lakers fans at the scene placed their hopes on Kobe. They knew that there was only one way for the Lakers to win, and that was Kobe.
Nicholson, a hardcore fan of the Lakers and the best actor, also set his sights on Kobe. As someone who had witnessed Kobe’s 81-point night, witnessed Kobe’s miraculous and difficult three-point double kill, and witnessed Kobe’s many great achievements.
A fan of that moment, all he believes now is Kobe Bryant.
D'Antoni felt Kobe's momentum around him and was secretly impressed. Being able to do this as a player is definitely a great thing.
The timeout ended quickly and the Lakers served. Although the Rockets players had already taken strict precautions against Kobe, at this moment, the Lakers players shared the same hatred. Except for Nash who was serving, all other players were covering for Kobe.
Kobe got rid of the bearded Harden, went directly to the three-point line, caught the ball, pivoted with his left foot, half-turned, took off, leaned back, raised his arm, shook his wrist, and shot.
There was not even a trace of hesitation in the entire action, and what supported him was confidence, an extremely powerful self-confidence. Only players who have experienced countless battles and scored countless key goals will have such self-confidence.
Wen Hao thought that Kobe's shot would stabilize his offense, but he didn't expect that Kobe would suddenly turn around and shoot a three-pointer. This made it too late for him to double-team.
James Harden could only watch as Kobe's shot passed through his fingertips and flew over his head, and then there was a crisp "swish" sound behind him, like thunder from the sky.
"Good shot!" Mullin shouted.
"It's so beautiful." Genna also exclaimed.
Along with their shouts, the fans at Staples Center also shouted.
On the sidelines, McHale saw that the Rockets players seemed to be shocked by Kobe's difficult three-pointer, and quickly reminded him: "Don't be critical, we are still ahead by 5 points, stabilize it, use up 24 seconds, and then fight again"
Score a goal."
Seeing this, the Rockets players came to their senses. After they served, Wen Hao wanted to move the ball forward. But Nash immediately caught him and fouled him. At this time, less than two seconds passed.
.
Wen Hao had no choice but to step to the free throw line. At the critical moment, his free throws did not miss a beat, and both free throws were made steadily.
Next, the Lakers continued to attack. Kobe did not take the ball, but just waited in the frontcourt. When Nash dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, he once again kept running inside, throwing away Harden, and in
Received the ball from beyond the three-point line.
Not to be outdone, Harden hurriedly chased after him. He raised his left hand outside the three-point line to prevent Kobe from shooting. He stretched his right hand forward and pressed it toward the ball in Kobe's hand. This was to prevent Kobe's fadeaway shot. In Harden's view
Come on, this kind of defense can be said to be foolproof. Kobe's speed is not as fast as him, so he can't break through at all. If he can't shoot under this kind of defense, there is only a dead end.
However, Kobe is Kobe after all. When he saw Harden press the ball in his hand with his left hand, he immediately stretched the ball forward, raised the ball with both hands, and made a shooting posture.
There is no doubt that Harden committed a foul. When Kobe reached for the ball, he realized what Kobe was going to do. This is exactly what he, an expert in touching porcelain, likes to do, but today Kobe used this trick secretly.
The referee was very cooperative with Kobe, and the whistle sounded at the right time: Rockets player No. 13 committed a foul, and Kobe made three free throws.
Harden shook his fist in the air in frustration.
Kobe stood on the free throw line and, with all the fans watching, easily made three free throws, narrowing the point difference to 4 points.
The Staples Center was filled with joy again, but Kobe was obviously used to this and was not excited about the cheers of the fans at all. He looked at Harden with a solemn look on his face. He was still 4 points behind, so it was not a celebration.
time.
The Rockets continued to serve, and after Wen Hao got the ball, he was fouled again. He once again stood on the free throw line.
All the fans in the Staples Center booed Wen Hao, but Wen Hao didn't care at all. To him, free throws were just like playing, and he didn't even have to make any moves.
The ball in the referee's hand was thrown out casually. Two free throws were made!
The Rockets once again led by 6 points.
D'Antoni didn't call another timeout. At this moment, there was no need for him to say anything. Kobe's actions can inspire all the players, and tactically... there are no tactics at all now, let Kobe handle it.
Kobe came to the frontcourt. After he caught the ball this time, Wen Hao immediately went up to double-team, and the rest of the Rockets were also ready to cover and rotate at any time. It is no different now than just now. Just now, Nash could be allowed to shoot, but now
At this time, you can't let go of any ball at all.
When Kobe saw Wen Hao and Harden coming to double-team him, he immediately took two steps back.
Staples fans couldn't help but feel nervous when they saw Kobe take a step back. Is Kobe afraid? Facing the double-team of Wen Hao and Harden, is Kobe afraid?
No, it is impossible for a player like Kobe to be afraid.
McHale thought so in his mind. But there was one thing he didn't understand. What exactly was Kobe going to do now? Did he want to take two steps back to open up space and pass the ball?
It's impossible. With Kobe's character, he will definitely execute the offense himself at this time and cannot leave it to others.
But, faced with this double team, what on earth is he going to do?
At this moment, when some people were confused and some people were puzzled, Kobe moved.
He opened the distance between Wen Hao and Harden, and Harden and Wen Hao rushed forward. At this moment, Kobe suddenly started and accelerated towards the middle of Harden and Wen Hao. Wen Hao and Wen Hao
Seeing this, Den hurriedly moved closer to the center and closed the door to defend. But at this moment, when Kobe was rushing forward at high speed, he suddenly changed direction and rushed to Harden's side on the left.
Harden had just moved to the middle, and when he saw Kobe suddenly change direction, he hurriedly defended to the left. At this moment, Kobe suddenly changed direction again, and was going to rush directly between Harden and Wen Hao.
Everyone on the sidelines was extremely shocked when they saw this. Looking at this posture, Kobe could pass Wen Hao and Harden with just one step. He broke through the double-team of the two, and there was no one to cover him.
Under the circumstances, Kobe's body and speed are really surprising.
Best actor Nicholson also thought: It's coming, Kobe Bryant's moment has come.
The two commentators, Mullin and Gerner, also had their eyes wide open. Kobe Bryant had a one-two, which has been rare in the past few years. If you watch it once, you will see it less often. They must watch carefully.
But at this moment, there seemed to be a faint smile on the corner of McHale's mouth on the sidelines. The double-teaming between Wen Hao and Harden was different from the double-teaming of ordinary players. Wen Hao is a right-handed player, and Harden is a left-handed player.
Players, when double-teaming, Harden stands on the left to give way, and Wenhao stands on the right. This makes it difficult for people to break through from both sides, and they can only break through from the middle.
When a person is accustomed to using his left hand, his left foot is also the most powerful. When he likes to use his right hand, his right foot is also the most powerful. So when the opponent bursts from the middle, Harden's left foot exerts force and bounces to the right. Wen Hao's right foot
Use force and bounce to the left. In this way, they double-team and close the door faster than two players who are right-handed or two players who are both left-handed.
Just as McHale expected, Kobe could have passed the two of them in one step. But when he rushed to the two of them, he was surprised to find that the two of them suddenly closed together at a speed that still seemed incredible.
At this time, he had to put the ball away to prevent it from being intercepted.
"Guard it." McHale clenched his fists and said with surprise in his heart.
"Defended?!" D'Antoni said with horror in his heart.
"Defended?" Lakers fans were even more surprised.
But at this moment, when everyone thought Kobe was about to be guarded, Kobe held the ball, squeezed his upper body between Wen Hao and Harden, and then threw the ball toward the backboard. At the same time, he
The two pacers stepped between them and ran towards the basket.
"Bang." The basketball hit the backboard and bounced back. Dayao didn't react in time and didn't even grab the backboard.
Kobe took this opportunity, jumped up, grabbed the ball with one hand in the air, and dunked the ball into the basket.
Self-throwing, self-catching, mid-air dunk! The score difference was reduced to 4 points.
As soon as the ball was scored, the whole audience was shocked. No one expected that Kobe, who was nearly 40 years old and in such an intense playoff game, would actually perform a self-throwing and self-catching dunk in the air. This is really amazing.
