Chapter 450 The situation in the second round gradually becomes clear
No surprises occurred.
After the game entered the final quarter, the Lakers never took the lead. Instead, Kobe and Artest had a 10-minute close fight in the final quarter, which reminded many fans of the Lakers who were in their two-year championship period a few years ago.
From being teammates in winning the championship to each having his own boss, the energy bursting out from the two old guys on the court is still eye-catching.
However, this does not affect the final outcome.
111:95, the Trail Blazers scored 31 points in the final quarter and the Lakers scored 33 points in the final quarter. In this game, the Lakers finally held the bottom line and did not lose to the Trail Blazers by more than 30 points.
Thanks to Kobe's late burst.
Facing Artest's one-on-one defense in the final quarter, Kobe couldn't help but think of the passionate days of the past, and his state suddenly became brave.
In the last quarter, he made 5 of 7 shots from the field and 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 16 points, 2 steals and 2 assists.
If it weren't for Kobe's 16 points in the final quarter, the Lakers might have really lost another game by 30 points tonight.
At the end of the game, Kobe made 11 of 22 shots and scored 33 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Unfortunately, he ended up playing the role of the leader of the group.
But, more importantly.
2:0! The Portland Trail Blazers are about to take an absolute advantage and go to Angel City to make a scene!
"Kobe Bryant scored 16 points in the last quarter and scored 33 points in the game! He did everything he could to win the game and deserves everyone's respect, but..."
Looking at the Lakers' lonely departure on the 24th, Steve Kerr, who was the special guest to commentate on this game, began to feel sorry for the losers.
Feeling regretful, he turned his attention back to tonight's biggest winner and continued:
"This is the NBA! This is the playoffs! There are many, many excellent players, but there is only one throne. Perhaps it is just like the Trail Blazers' playoff slogan this year:
It’s time~Championship!”
Kobe walked back to the tunnel with a cold expression, stopped, turned his head and looked at the glamorous scene outside. A sense of powerlessness spread throughout his body, forcing him to turn his head and quickly disappeared into the tunnel.
Kobe knew that he was very likely to play the role of a tragic hero in this series. Without improving his performance in the last game, tonight he had already produced results that were enough to justify his name.
But the facts proved that, with the same full firepower, No. 36 on the opposite side was not at all inferior!
Played 38 minutes, scored 27 points and grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds, almost unlocking the double-20 achievement...
This year, Wang Zelin is very likely to win the achievements of "MVP, first team defense, rebounding king, and shot blocking". After just one rookie season, Wang Zelin has grown into the most terrifying big man in the league.
Just thinking about it made Kobe extremely desperate.
Sometimes, the scariest thing is not losing, but that you try your best, even in an explosive state, but still can't beat others.
This is the most shocking thing!
Of course, Kobe also knows that his biggest enemy has never been the rise of young players, but the passing of his own years.
Time is the biggest enemy of every superstar!
After falling behind the Thunder 0:2 in the Western Conference semifinals of the 2011-12 playoffs, the Lakers once again fell behind 0:2.
If I, Paul, and Steve could have been a few years younger, why didn't the Lakers turn the rot into something magical and defeat the Trail Blazers in four consecutive games to advance?
But the problem is that the core structure of the Lakers is old and injured. Facing the Trail Blazers... this young team is too energetic, and the Lakers are least willing to fight against such an opponent.
Although I really don't want to admit it, the fact is before our eyes - the Los Angeles Lakers are about to fall off the cliff, and they are only holding on with one hand.
At the same time, the Trail Blazers will never feel pity, let alone pull the Lakers up the cliff. Instead, they will look at the opportunity and add a kick to the hand that can still grasp the steepness until the Lakers fall thousands of feet.
Abyss, fell to pieces!
"No!"
Thinking of this, Kobe couldn't help but punch the locker in the locker room.
This sudden move made the surrounding teammates and coach D'Antoni jump. The Clippers quickly stepped forward to check Kobe's palm.
If Kobe gets injured because of this, it will be a real loss.
Not far away, D'Antoni shook his head secretly.
Kobe's actions were not just out of pure anger, but also out of unwillingness... because anyone could see that there were not many opportunities left for the Lakers.
Looking at the history of the NBA playoffs, for most teams, when they are behind 0:2, the output is basically more than 90%.
But if your opponent happens to be the regular season champion, then congratulations, you can prepare fishing rods for summer fishing in advance.
From this point of view, what Wang Zelin said about Kobe after the game was not without purpose.
The strength gap between the two teams is already very obvious. Pau Gasol cannot have any advantage in front of Wang Zelin. Once he is targeted, it will be difficult to score.
In the eyes of Matthews, Batum, and even Connett Lee and Beverley on the bench, Kobe is a piece of walking monk meat. As long as one of them is present, they will not give Kobe an easy chance to score.
Thinking of this, D'Antoni had a headache: I really don't know how the Trail Blazers found this group of defensive heroes. Even Kobe, who is famous for his singles ability, was obviously unable to withstand so many people taking turns.
ah!
In a situation where both internal and external cores are being targeted, what hope does the Lakers have?
…
Half an hour later, Kobe had a serious expression on his face at the press conference, but his eyes could not hide the tiredness and loneliness. However, he was caught by the photographers who had caught the chicken legs in advance.
After the interview, Kobe's lonely expression quickly spread across major news websites.
Seeing that Kobe played so well but still lost the game, countless people expressed emotion.
"It seems that a fierce battle with the Portland Trail Blazers is inevitable!"
In Los Angeles, Paul, who looked for Wang Zelin to end the game in half an hour and led his team to defeat Mosaic and gain a 2:0 advantage, silently turned off the news.
…
…
The day after winning the game, Wang Zelin rarely slept enough to wake up naturally. After taking a 2:0 lead, the situation in the Western Conference gradually became clearer, and he finally relaxed a lot.
After the press conference last night, he also learned the news that the Clippers were leading the Mosaics 2:0.
It seems that Harden, who is still a little immature, and Howard, who is slowly declining from his peak, cannot handle the holy Paul, the point guard who is in his prime!
What's more, Paul also has Griffin and DeAndre Jordan as his right-hand men.
Many people don't believe it, but Jordan's defensive results against Howard in this series were beyond everyone's expectations.
It's not that Jordan guarded Howard, but when Howard faced Jordan, who also had top physical talent, I don't know whether it was due to injury or some other reason, but it was actually difficult for Howard to complete a strong attack at the basket.
After two games, Howard didn't have the slightest impression of averaging 26.13 per game in the series. He couldn't even achieve 20.10 and could only maintain a performance of around 17.10.
On the contrary, he is a golfer with a beard. After two games, he averaged 29 5 5 per game. He is a real leader in the Mosaic team.
However, if this trend continues, the dual-core mosaic will indeed be unable to defeat the Clippers with the Big Three structure.
Not to mention Paul and Griffin.
In these two games, Jordan has averaged a double-double of 10 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. In addition, he is facing Howard. From the current point of view, it is not reasonable to say that he is one of the Big Three in the Nets.
Pass.
As for the other two sets of playoffs in the Western Conference, the top four Spurs and Thunder did not give their opponents a chance, and both achieved a huge 2:0 lead.
This year's Western Conference playoffs are exactly the same as last year, with basically no chance of defeat.
Since then, the situation of the second round has suddenly become very clear. One group is the Trail Blazers vs. the Clippers, and the other is the Spurs vs. Thunder.