Chapter 656: Entering the Western Conference Finals three times in three years
The Clippers once again served from the backcourt. After Paul took the ball to the frontcourt, he did not hand the ball directly to Griffin. Instead, he made a gesture to let his teammates pull away, and then he prepared to single out Lillard.
After several consecutive crotch dribbles in front of Lillard, Paul suddenly started to move to the left. Lillard quickly moved left and laterally to try to intercept Paul's breakthrough, but who knew that Paul's steps to the left slowed down, and then
A behind-the-back dribble handed the ball to his right hand, and then he broke through to the right.
At this time, Lillard had been completely shaken away by Paul's fake move, but Paul didn't have time to rush in or take a shot.
Next to him, Batum had already stepped in to defend, blocking Paul's path forward.
Batum's defense was not as easy to deal with as Lillard, so Paul used his extremely fast dribbling to open up a little space, then started passing the ball, and the target was Barnes who was squatting underneath.
Seeing the ball fly out of Paul's hand, Rivers stood up excitedly from the bench. As long as the ball can be scored, the Clippers can regain the lead.
However……
"Oh! Wang appeared in the passing lane! He intercepted the basketball in the middle, my God, he actually predicted Chris's prediction in advance!"
The on-site commentator couldn't help but exclaimed.
At least they are tired of seeing the outside line cutting off the inside line, but it is very rare for the inside line to seize the outside line.
Even Paul himself couldn't believe his eyes. As a traditional point guard and a team leader who has kept his assist-to-turnover ratio extremely low in his career, he never imagined that his pass would be suddenly intercepted by a passer.
The center who came out interrupted.
This goal king Zelin had long expected that the final end point would be Barnes. If not, the latter would not make frequent moves under the basket.
Moreover, Lillard, who has switched defenses against Barnes, has the only height advantage in the Clippers team. Giving him the ball to finish is the most reasonable way to handle the ball.
So Wang Zelin followed Jordan while observing all Paul's movements. Finally, when Paul passed the ball, he saw the right moment and stretched out his long arm to complete the long-planned interception!
After stealing the ball, it was quickly handed to Batum. Batum controlled the ball to half court and then handed it to Lillard.
At this time, the whole court formed a 3-on-2 situation. Lillard didn't want to miss the opportunity, so he directly tried to break in against Redick's defense. After taking two steps, he found that it was still difficult to forcefully break through the opponent.
The next moment, he suddenly looked back at the moon and threw the ball directly into the hands of Aldridge, who had just ran over.
This season, Aldridge averaged 2.5 three-pointers per game during the regular season and hit 1 goal. Although his output was average, his shooting percentage was indeed good, with a full 40%.
therefore……
"Whoosh!"
After catching the ball, he directly picked it up and took a shot. The basketball drew a perfect arc and fell straight into the basket.
It only took two or three rounds to go from leading to falling behind by 4 points, and the Clippers fans watching the game immediately let out a cry of dissatisfaction.
At the same time, the Clippers, who were still full of confidence before, instantly suffered a heavy blow.
With both teams returning to their main lineup, the Clippers' performance was actually not as good as the previous second lineup, and they were beaten 4-0. This is not good news for the Clippers.
Rivers on the sidelines also observed the emotional changes of the disciples on the court, so he did not hesitate to request a timeout, hoping to help the players slightly adjust their mentality.
During the timeout, Rivers had nothing to say. He simply comforted his disciples and then cheered them up.
Soon the timeout ended and the game started again.
The Clippers serve the inbounds ball.
The basketball controlled by Paul reached the entire court and was immediately handed over to Griffin. Griffin played very decisively this time and directly started to beat Aldridge facing the frame.
While dribbling the ball, he glanced at Wang Zelin's position. Seeing that Jordan had the latter stuck, he felt relieved.
After approaching the paint area, Griffin turned around and strode away from Aldridge, hitting a two-point shot near the basket.
There is only one ball difference between the two sides.
Trail Blazers offense.
Wang Zelin used his body to overpower DeAndre Jordan again, took a decisive step from the free throw line and hit a skyhook, scoring two points.
Looking back, Redick caught the ball and hit a long two-pointer, once again closing the gap.
In the next few rounds, both sides fought hard offensively, and the score continued to rise.
But unfortunately, the Clippers were unable to equalize the score and could only control the point difference to about 2 to 5 points.
At the end of halftime, the Trail Blazers returned to the locker room with a three-point lead.
In terms of personal statistics, Wang Zelin, who played 17 minutes in two quarters, scored 4 rebounds, 5 blocks and 1 steal.
12 of the points were scored in the second quarter. After all, he was targeted so hard in the first quarter that he was a little timid on the offensive end.
Fortunately, with his outstanding performance in the second quarter, he finally helped the team gain a 3-point advantage.
This advantage doesn't seem to be big, but after the second quarter, Wang Zelin's number of fouls in this game still stayed at one, which is undoubtedly good news for him and the Trail Blazers.
Because this means that although Wang Zelin has no whistle on the offensive end, it is not unacceptable if he can get fair treatment on the defensive end.
Anyway, he is rough-skinned and thick-skinned, and ordinary black hands will not have much impact on his finishing efficiency at the basket. As long as he does not foul at the first touch like at the beginning, he is confident that he can completely control Jordan and Griffin on the defensive end.
…
15 minutes later, the third quarter began.
Fighting again in another place, the lineup arrangements of both sides still have the main players.
Tonight is a battle of life and death. The Clippers are on the verge of being eliminated, while the Trail Blazers can advance to the Western Conference Finals with one more win. No one wants to give up the fruits of victory.
In this case, the head coaches of both sides no longer be stingy and choose to beat the main players hard. Now it is not only a competition of skills, but also a competition between the main players of both sides in terms of willpower, mental attributes, etc.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Clippers attack.
Wang Zelin switched to guard Griffin, who broke through with the ball to no avail and passed back to Paul outside the three-point line.
"Snapped!"
As soon as he caught the ball, Lillard stared at Paul like a hungry wolf pouncing on his prey, not giving Paul the slightest chance to break through.
It was another round of ball possession rotation, and the Clippers still didn't find a chance. Redick received the pass from his teammate, cursed in his heart, and quickly took action.
Duang!
The ball missed the frame and was collected by Wang Zelin.
What is unexpected is.
The Trail Blazers fell into a positional battle. Wang Zelin was chased and intercepted by three people as soon as he entered the three-point line.
The Clippers simply don't let Wang Zelin catch the ball inside!
Such a choice is too crazy, right?
Bystanders were dumbfounded.
"Three double teams! I have been commentating on the NBA for so many years, and the last time a player received such high-level defensive treatment was back to the Black Mamba Kobe Bryant who was in the spotlight before 2010!"
"Don't forget, the Trail Blazers are currently playing the main lineup, and the other players are not substitutes!"
"The Clippers would rather let go of the rest of the Blazers than double-team Wang. Even if Wang just scored 12 points in the second quarter, it wouldn't be like this!"
Commentators from major TV stations who were broadcasting the game couldn't help but exclaimed after seeing this scene.
However, facing the triple double team of Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Barnes, Wang Zelin didn't seem to panic at all, and even wanted to laugh a little.
Do you think you can limit your score just by the number of people!?
A bit too naive!
Even if he can't get inside, he still has other ways to defeat the opponent.
The moment he received the ball near the free throw line, Griffin and Barnes on the left and right sides were double-teamed, and there was Jordan watching eagerly behind.
"Peng!"
I saw Wang Zelin on the court with his back against Griffin, and then dribbled the ball with great force, knocking the latter back a big step.
At this time, Jordan and Barnes were secretly happy.
Because this distance is still one step away from the free throw line, it is just right for a three-person attack.
But just when the two were about to take action, Wang Zelin pressed his back against Griffin, leaned on Barnes with his left shoulder, grabbed the basketball with his right hand, and gave it a slight hook.
After the basketball drew a beautiful arc, it quickly fell towards the basket...
"Whoosh!"
Griffin felt uneasy for a while. When he looked back, he saw the basketball sliding smoothly into the net.
“O~M~G!
"
"Sky Hook! Invincible Sky Hook!"
"Wang faced the defense of three people and scored the ball with a very sudden and confident hook shot!"
"So what if there are three double-teams! Wang can score just like him! I knew Wang would never disappoint!"
"
The major commentators saw Wang Zelin's actions and shouted excitedly.
The score difference came to 5 points.
At the Clippers' home court, the fans held their heads with their hands and couldn't believe that Wang Zelin could still score the ball under such extremely targeted defense.
That’s too outrageous!
Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Barnes on the court also stared blankly at the basketball rolling on the ground, with confused expressions on their faces.
In their imagination, it was normal for Wang Zelin to make a head-on attack inside, or to fake a pass and pass the ball to an open teammate to finish, and they also thought about how to deal with it.
But what happened to this exaggerated hook shot one step away from the free throw line?
In fact, in the first half, Wang Zelin also used sky hooks several times, but those times were within the free throw line, a certain distance from the basket, but still acceptable.
But this goal really allowed the Clippers to break their defense.
"Fakeyo! I really don't know what other goals this guy can't score!"
Jordan couldn't help but uttered a curse word and said to Griffin.
"Xie Te! This Tian Gou is so unreasonable!"
Griffin also complained.
During the transition between offense and defense, Paul, as the captain, withstood the pressure and showed his responsibility as a team leader.
Facing Lillard, he forced a pull-up mid-range shot and helped the team stabilize the situation.
"Keep double-teaming me!"
"Wang Zelin must not be allowed to take action!"
It was the Blazers' offensive round again, and Rivers was pacing back and forth on the sidelines, shouting to the players on the court.
After the first half, he noticed Wang Zelin's second-quarter statistics, and when he thought of Wang Zelin's furious performance of 34.3 points per game in the first three games of the series, he couldn't help but tremble.
This is why the Clippers’ crazy double-teaming tactics are now in place!
On the court, one step inside the free throw line, after Wang Zelin received Batum's pass, Barnes and DeAndre Jordan immediately got into position.
"Here we go again! The Clippers seem to be determined not to let the king take action!"
"The last goal king chose to break the double team with a sky hook. Will the pursuit continue?"
The duo from Chaotingtai are very much looking forward to Wang Zelin’s next choice.
Next, faced with the Clippers' strict defense, under the witness of everyone, Wang Zelin first used his huge body to block the defensive player, and then pushed his huge buttocks hard towards Jordan behind him!
"Don't even think about it!"
Jordan roared unwillingly and tried his best to block Wang Zelin's direction.
On the other side, Barnes also pressed over and stretched out his hand to try to complete the steal.
"hey-hey!"
Wang Zelin smiled inwardly, his legs exploded instantly, and while leaping high, he blocked the player with his left hand. With a flick of his right wrist, the basketball flew towards the basket again.
"Whoosh!"
Along with an extremely beautiful arc, the basketball fell into the net bag and made a crisp sound.
Crazy double team attack, sky hook shooting, easy points!
The difference in scores is getting bigger and bigger.
At this moment, not only the defenders felt desperate, but the Clippers fans on the sidelines were also extremely desperate.
God, please send someone to save the Clippers!
However, this is a materialistic world after all, and the savior they longed for has not yet arrived.
With Wang Zelin scoring 15 points in the third quarter, the Trail Blazers opened the point difference to 11 points after three quarters, and Clippers coach Rivers completely lost sight of any hope of winning.
Maybe, we really can only go so far this year.
In the final battle of the fourth quarter, Wang Zelin continued his performance. Griffin and DeAndre Jordan fell silent successively. In the end, even Paul completely lost his ambition. The three core members of the Clippers spent the last time in a state of confusion.
When the game was about to end with 2 minutes and 18 seconds left, Rivers called Paul's name. Paul looked up and found that Rivers was about to replace him.
Paul walked off the stage with his hands on his hips in despair, because he knew that the purpose of this substitution was not to let him rest, but to announce that the Clippers had given up the game!
Portland.
All the Trail Blazers fans watching the game at home jumped up and hugged each other with excitement. They could only vent the joy in their hearts through constant shouting and carnival.
Although the game is not over yet, every Trail Blazers fan knows that they have already won!
Staples Center.
Wang Zelin took the towel, wiped the sweat off his head, and finally focused on the team score on the big screen.
The game ends in more than two minutes, and the Trail Blazers have already taken a 26-point lead. At this time, even Jesus can't save the Clippers.
Finally, it’s time to advance!
In the third year of his career, he will also stand on the stage of the Western Conference Finals for the third time.
But this time, his opponent will most likely be replaced.
The Spurs are getting old after all and are about to withdraw from the stage of history. What will stand in front of him next will be a new and powerful enemy.